The FTC is appealing the ruling of a San Francisco federal judge, which had enabled Microsoft and Activision Blizzard to press ahead with the terminating of their deal on the 18th of July. Taking the matter to the 9th Circuit appeals court, the Commission aims to obstruct the companies' planned action.
The Federal Trade Commission has not given up on its attempt to impede Microsoft's acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. On Wednesday, it filed to appeal a federal judge's refusal of a preliminary injunction request that would have stopped the deal from closing. This ruling follows Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley's decision at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California the previous day. The FTC had taken action against the acquisition last December and was seeking an emergency injunction last month before the deal's July 18th deadline. It argued that the purchase was anticompetitive, claiming Microsoft might make some of its games exclusive to its game consoles and diminish the experience of Activision games on rival services. Microsoft has maintained that it will instead make the games more widely available. Corley concluded that the FTC had not demonstrated it could prevail in its internal challenge of the merger. According to CNBC, the FTC could bring the judge's decision to the 9th Circuit appeals court. When asked about the FTC's appeal, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick expressed disbelief that they would devote taxpayer resources to the appeal. The FTC declined to comment. Microsoft's president and vice chair, Brad Smith, stated that the "District Court's ruling makes crystal clear that this acquisition is good for both competition and consumers," but the company is displeased with the FTC for continuing "what has become a demonstrably weak case" and will oppose any effort to delay the deal. Microsoft is in the process of securing approval for the transaction in the United Kingdom and both companies have agreed with the country's Competition and Markets Authority that staying litigation would be beneficial. An Activision Blizzard spokesman kept their previous stance, confirming that they remain confident that the U.S. will be one of the 39 countries where the merger can close.
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