Meta Platforms Inc. chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, left, arrives in federal court in San Jose, California, U.S., Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Owner of Facebook Meta will be allowed to buy Within Unlimited, the maker of virtual reality fitness app Supernatural, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, the District Court judge’s decision California remained sealed on Wednesday.
Shares of Meta were slightly positive on Wednesday afternoon.
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The reported decision would be a significant defeat for the Federal Trade Commission, which under progressive chairman Lina Khan has promised to take on riskier cases and seek to be forward-thinking in enforcing corporate mergers which, according to the agency, could become important. competitive threats.
The FTC could still appeal the decision and could also decide to go through an internal administrative procedure on the merger. The agency filed an emergency motion on Tuesday seeking to block Meta from completing the merger for an additional week, giving it time to determine next steps.
Bloomberg and The Times reported that the judge granted a temporary restraining order to prevent Meta from closing the deal during this time.
The FTC filed a lawsuit to block the merger in July, arguing that Meta was using the deal “to fight its way to the top,” rather than compete on its own merits, the Bureau’s deputy director said. competition, John Newman, in a statement at the time.
The lawsuit solidified Khan’s vision of bringing tough cases that seek to push the boundaries of antitrust law. In a 2021 memo to agency staff, Khan said the FTC should be “forward-looking” in its enforcement actions and pay close attention to “next-generation technologies, innovations and infant industries in all sectors”.
The agency, which is also litigating a separate monopolization case against Meta, argued that the market for virtual reality fitness apps would decline if the company were allowed to buy Within due to “the mere possibility [that] The entry of Meta probably influenced competition” in the market.
A spokesperson for Meta said in a statement at the time that the deal was “based on ideology and speculation, not evidence. The idea that this acquisition would lead to anti-competitive results in a dynamic space with so much entry and growth that online and connected fitness is simply not credible.”
“Complying with the court order, the FTC is unable to comment at this time,” an FTC spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment.
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