Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to temporarily block the Microsoft-Activision deal fall short, court rules

In a significant victory, the U.S. Appeals Court for the 9th Circuit has rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s request to temporarily halt Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard.

While Microsoft is still working to address concerns raised by the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority, the company aims to finalize the deal by July 18.

The FTC initially filed a lawsuit in December to block the acquisition and later sought an emergency injunction. The agency argued that the deal could lead to anti-competitive practices, such as Microsoft making its games exclusive to its Xbox consoles or reducing the quality of Activision games on rival platforms. In response, Microsoft assured that it would enhance the accessibility of the games.

After a five-day court hearing, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled against the FTC, prompting the agency to file an appeal. The FTC claimed that the judge had applied an incorrect legal standard and requested a temporary injunction while the appeal was being considered.

It is worth noting that the FTC, under the leadership of Lina Khan, has faced setbacks in its attempts to regulate technology companies, including its unsuccessful bid to prevent Meta Platforms from acquiring the virtual reality fitness app startup Within.

As of now, there has been no response from FTC or Microsoft representatives regarding the recent court ruling.