The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Meta last July claiming the company wanted to buy its way to the top in an anti-competitive manner.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) has reportedly won a court case to acquire Within Unlimited, the maker of the virtual reality fitness app Supernatural. According to several reputable media outlets, people familiar with the matter confirmed that Judge Edward Davila from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied an injunction by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as part of an effort to block Meta acquiring Within.
Nonetheless, the judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing Meta from closing the deal for at least a week. Following the report, Meta shares closed the first day of February trading at $153.12, up 2.79 percent. Additionally, Meta shares continued with the gains during the after-hours with a spike of approximately 20.16 percent to trade around $184.
“The case was based on ideology and speculation, not evidence. The idea that this acquisition would lead to anticompetitive outcomes in a dynamic space with as much entry and growth as online and connected fitness is simply not credible,” Meta’s spokesperson said.
Notably, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Meta last July claiming the company wanted to buy its way to the top in an anti-competitive manner. Following the court’s decision to grant Meta approval to acquire the Within app, FTC filed an emergency motion to stop Meta from proceeding with the deal for a week.
Meta and the Market Outlook
Meta has recorded an impressive three months despite a choppy 2022. According to market data provided by MarketWatch, Meta shares have gained approximately 69 percent in the past three months. Nonetheless, the company’s shares dropped about 52 percent last year. As such, the company’s market capitalization stands at around $395.99 billion.
The tech giant reported financial results for the quarter and full year that ended on December 31, 2022. During the fourth quarter, the company posted revenues of about $32.17 billion, a decline of 4 percent YoY. The company announced that it repurchased shares worth $6.9 billion during the fourth quarter. As of December 31, 2022, the company announced that it had approximately $10.87 billion available and authorized for its share repurchase program.
With increased job cuts in the tech industry, the company reported a total headcount of 86,482 as of December 31, 2022, an increase of 20 percent year-over-year.
“Our community continues to grow and I’m pleased with the strong engagement across our apps. Facebook just reached the milestone of 2 billion daily actives,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. “The progress we’re making on our AI discovery engine and Reels are major drivers of this. Beyond this, our management theme for 2023 is the ‘Year of Efficiency’ and we’re focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization.”
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