- An appeals court refused a plea for injunctive relief from the Federal Trade Commission, which has blocked Microsoft’s acquisition of game producer Activision Blizzard.
- Microsoft is still working with regulators in the United Kingdom to fix concerns.
- The companies intend to conclude their merger by July 18.
In a victory for Microsoft , the U.S. Appeals Court for the 9th Circuit late on Friday refused the Federal Trade Commission’s plea to temporarily halt Microsoft from finalizing its $68.7 billion acquisition of video game producer Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft is still attempting to overcome concerns about the purchase from the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority. The two corporations had been seeking to conclude the acquisition by July 18.
“We appreciate the Ninth Circuit’s swift response denying the FTC’s motion to further delay the deal. This gets us another step closer to the finish line in this marathon of global regulatory reviews,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and vice chair, said in a statement
A federal judge in San Francisco, after five days of court hearings, ruled against the FTC on Tuesday, and the federal agency filed its appeal on Wednesday.
The FTC first sued to halt the acquisition last December, then moved for an emergency injunction to block the conclusion of the merger before it could have an agency administrative law judge take it up. The FTC has contended that the purchase was anti-competitive because Microsoft would make certain of its games exclusive to its own Xbox game consoles or reduce the experience of Activision games such as the popular Call of Duty titles on competing services should the merger close. Microsoft has indicated it would instead make the games more publicly available.
In an emergency move filed with the 9th Circuit on Thursday, the FTC claimed the district judge “denied preliminary relief, applying the wrong legal standard: the court effectively required the FTC to prove its full case on the merits with the court as arbiter of the merger’s legality.” The agency asked an interim injunction while the court examined an appeal of the district court’s conclusion.
Under the direction of Lina Khan, the FTC has lost numerous disputes with technology businesses, including its effort to prohibit Meta Platforms from buying virtual reality fitness software startup Within.
FTC representatives did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the verdict.