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A California judge is allowing Meta to close its acquisition of virtual reality fitness startup Within despite an ongoing antitrust case by the Federal Trade Commission, according to an unsealed ruling<\/a>. On Wednesday, Bloomberg <\/em>reported<\/a> that the court denied the FTC\u2019s request to block the deal but with a one-week delay that will give the FTC time to appeal. The orders were posted on Tuesday, and a status hearing on the case is set for February 7th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The FTC sued<\/a> in July of 2022 to stop Meta\u2019s acquisition of Within, which makes the popular VR app Supernatural. The agency argued that Meta\u2019s purchase would expand its dominance in the consumer VR market, where Meta has staked many of its resources in recent years. The commission highlighted Meta\u2019s previous merger with the company behind Beat Saber <\/em>in 2019, claiming that the addition of Within would eliminate a \u201cbeneficial rivalry<\/a>\u201d between the two companies. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Meta fought the decision, but in December, it agreed to delay its Within acquisition<\/a> until January 31st \u2014 although Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said in a hearing that the company might drop the deal if it \u201cdoesn\u2019t close in a timely manner.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThough Meta boasts considerable financial and VR engineering resources, it did not possess the capabilities unique to VR dedicated fitness apps, specifically fitness content creation and studio production facilities,\u201d the ruling reads. \u201cAs a VR platform developer, Meta can enjoy many of the promising benefits of VR fitness growth without itself intervening in the VR fitness app market.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The FTC apparently faced internal disagreements<\/a> over whether to intervene in Meta and Within\u2019s deal, and its pursuit of the case stands in stark contrast to several relatively smooth Meta (formerly Facebook) acquisitions, including its purchase of VR startup Oculus in 2014. \u201cOut of respect for the court\u2019s orders, the FTC is not in a position to comment at this time,\u201d FTC director of public affairs Douglas Farrar\u00a0told The Verge <\/em>in response to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe are pleased that the Court has denied the FTC\u2019s motion to block our acquisition of Within,\u201d Meta spokesperson Stephen Peters says in a statement to The Verge<\/em>. \u201cThis deal will bring pro-competitive benefits to the ecosystem and spur innovation that will benefit people, developers, and the VR space more broadly. We look forward to closing the transaction soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If this week\u2019s order stands, it would represent a loss for agency head and antitrust crusader Lina Khan. The defeat would come as the FTC fights to stop another game-related merger: Microsoft\u2019s acquisition of Activision<\/a>. The two cases have significant differences \u2014\u00a0particularly the small size of the VR market compared to the overall games industry, as well as the FTC\u2019s choice to specifically focus on the market for fitness VR apps in the Within case, not VR or games in general. Nonetheless, the decision could indicate an uphill battle to limit tech industry consolidation \u2014 despite persistent attempts to give antitrust watchdogs teeth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n