U.S. Appeals Court Rejects FTC’s Request to Halt Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Purchase

A U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s request to order Microsoft to temporarily wait to complete its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, the maker of “Call of Duty.”

The FTC had also asked Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the U.S. District Court in northern California for a stay, but she rejected that request late Thursday.

The appeals court decision removes one of the few remaining hurdles preventing Xbox maker Microsoft from expanding its gaming business by closing the deal to purchase Activision.

The deal, the largest in the history of the gaming industry, has yet to be approved in Britain.

In the United States, the FTC had argued that the deal would hurt consumers, whether they played video games on consoles or subscribed, because Microsoft would have an incentive to shut out rivals such as Sony Group. Microsoft responded by offering rivals 10-year licenses.

But on Tuesday, Judge Corley ruled that the deal was legal under antitrust law and denied the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction to give the FTC time to submit the deal to an internal FTC judge in August . (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Sandra Maler)

2023-07-14 23:34:17
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