FTC Unsuccessful in Halting Microsoft’s $69 Billion Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

A federal judge has rejected the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard before the July 18 deadline.

Due to the decision made by California judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, Microsoft can proceed with its $69 billion deal with the popular game developer, Call of Duty.

As stated in a report by The Verge, this is subject to Microsoft’s ability to overcome the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) who previously blocked the merger in April. Microsoft has appealed the decision and a hearing is scheduled for July 28. Negotiations between both parties may also take place. However, the European Commission has already given approval for the merger in May.

With this acquisition, Microsoft will gain control over a wide range of popular Activision Blizzard intellectual properties, including the Call of Duty series, Candy Crush Saga, Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Guitar Hero, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, Skylanders, Spyro the Dragon, StarCraft, Warcraft, World of Warcraft, and Tony Hawk.

While the FTC has the option to challenge the judge’s decision, it has not indicated whether it will do so at this time.

The FTC can still proceed with its antitrust case against Microsoft.

In January 2022, Microsoft formally announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard for a staggering sum of $69 billion.

Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.