Microsoft’s billionth takeover at risk? The FTC does not lay down its arms. He wants to block the merger

On Tuesday, Microsoft won a court battle with the Federal Trade Commission over the largest merger in the history of the video game industry. Recall that it is about the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for – a trifle – $ 69 billion. His plan was announced by the Redmond company in January 2022, but the transaction was temporarily suspended due to the possible risk of Microsoft obtaining a monopoly position on the gaming market – which became the basis for a lawsuit filed by the FTC.

The decision of judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the court in San Francisco () that is favorable for Microsoft means that – in theory – Microsoft can now complete the acquisition of Actvision Blizzard without any obstacles (at least in the key US market – there is still the issue of blocking the merger by the regulator in Great Britain) .

However, it turns out that the Federal Trade Commission has no intention of giving up. On Wednesday, the FTC filed a notice with the court announcing that it was appealing the decision of Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley. So far, we do not know what specific arguments are behind the request. We will know them only after the American regulator files the required documents with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

However, the FTC has little time to block the transaction. The court would have to issue a decision to extend the temporary restraining order (TRO) before it expires, i.e. until Friday, July 14, 23.59. As The Verge points out, it’s not even clear if the appeals court will be able to rule on the matter before July 18, which is the deadline for closing the merger. If TRO is not extended, Microsoft will be able to finalize the transaction next Monday or Tuesday.

Acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The FTC is appealing

Microsoft itself does not hide its disappointment with the decision of the FTC. The company issued a statement on the matter.

The District Court’s ruling clearly shows that this acquisition is beneficial to both competition and consumers. We are disappointed that the FTC is still fighting for this lost case and oppose any further action to delay the ability to proceed with this process.

– emphasized Brad Smith, Vice President of Microsoft.

The company from Redmond, however, does not intend to wait idly for a possible court decision (or lack thereof). From published by NASDAQ (American Stock Exchange) shows that next Monday, July 17, Acitvision Blizzard Inc. will leave the NASDAQ-100 stock index.