The U.S. Federal Trade Commission Sought to Block the Deal
A San Francisco federal judge on Tuesday granted approval for Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard, potentially paving the way for a merger between the tech giant and the video gaming publisher, AP News reported.
The ruling comes as a blow to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which sought to block the deal. The judge determined that the FTC was unlikely to demonstrate that the merger would result in a significant reduction in competition that would harm consumers. Additionally, the judge denied the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction, which would have delayed the closing of the deal until the conclusion of the court battle.
Activision Blizzard is a video game holding company founded in 2008 via the merger of Activision, Inc. and Vivendi Games. It trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ATVI.
In response, Douglas Farr, a spokesperson for the FTC, expressed disappointment in the outcome, highlighting the perceived threat the merger poses to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services, and consoles.
The proposed $69 billion deal was initially announced in January 2022. However, it has raised concerns regarding antitrust issues and fears of diminishing competition in the market for Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console. In December, the FTC initiated a legal challenge to block the sale, citing Microsoft’s alleged history of using valuable gaming content to suppress competition from rival consoles. The ongoing challenge is being heard in an FTC administrative proceeding.
