The Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to halt Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has proven unsuccessful. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to grant the agency an emergency stay, allowing the deal to proceed in the US.
Last month, a temporary restraining order was put in place to prevent the acquisition from closing until Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled on the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction. With Corley rejecting the injunction request and the appeals court declining the emergency stay, Microsoft and Activision are now free to close the deal as early as Saturday.
In her ruling, Corley determined that the FTC failed to prove that the merger would harm consumers. Despite the setback, the FTC has announced its intention to appeal Corley’s decision. It has also asked the district court that ruled on the preliminary injunction to block the merger pending a decision from the appeals court. However, Corley promptly denied that motion.
The FTC initially filed a lawsuit in December to block the deal, citing concerns about competition. An administrative hearing is scheduled for early August. The agency sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the companies from closing the merger until the antitrust trial takes place, but the merger deadline is set for July 18th.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard appear confident about closing the deal by their deadline. Activision’s stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq-100 index before the stock market opens on Monday, indicating that the companies may finalize the deal around that time.
However, there are still outstanding issues with a UK regulator, which cited cloud gaming concerns as the reason for blocking the deal. Microsoft has appealed the decision, but both sides have agreed to pause their legal battle. The Competition Appeal Tribunal will decide on July 17th whether the pause should take effect.
The UK regulator stated that Microsoft and Activision could restructure the deal, but cautioned that it may trigger a new merger investigation. The regulator has extended its decision deadline until the end of August to thoroughly review Microsoft’s submission. However, they aim to reach a conclusion as soon as possible.
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