A US court has granted Meta permission to proceed with the acquisition of VR firm Within despite the US Federal Trade Commission’s continuing antitrust case against the tech giant.
The court rejected the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction against the acquisition following a seven-day hearing.
After carefully examining the evidence and the parties’ arguments, the court said that it is not “reasonably probable” that Meta would enter the market for VR dedicated fitness apps if it couldn’t complete the acquisition.
The FTC attempted to prevent the acquisition of Within by Meta in July of last year since Meta is already a significant player at every level of the VR industry.
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The agency claimed that Meta and Zuckerberg intended to “illegally buy a dedicated fitness software that illustrates the value of virtual reality to consumers” in order to grow Meta’s virtual reality empire.
The FTC now has time to appeal after the US court decided in favor of Meta. The well-known fitness software “Supernatural” is a property of the Within VR firm.
A-list artists like Katy Perry, Imagine Dragons, Lady Gaga, and Coldplay are featured among the high-caliber workouts available on Supernatural, which are virtually set in stunning, lifelike locations like the Galapagos Islands.
