Judge denies Federal Trade Commission’s request to halt Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision during appeal

A federal judge in Northern California has denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request to halt Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, while the FTC appeals the deal. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled on Tuesday that Microsoft’s takeover of the video game giant can proceed, going against the FTC’s desires.

In response, the FTC filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to challenge Corley’s decision. However, in a subsequent order issued on Thursday, Corley rejected the FTC’s motion to put Microsoft’s purchase of Activision, the creator of the popular “Call of Duty” game series, on hold during the appeal process.

Microsoft and Activision previously set a deadline of July 18 to complete the acquisition.

The two companies initially announced the deal in January 2022. The FTC, responsible for enforcing antitrust laws, filed a lawsuit in December, seeking to block the sale. At the time, the FTC argued that the deal would give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the Xbox gaming console market and its growing subscription content and cloud gaming business.

In her ruling on Tuesday, Corley stated that the FTC had not presented substantial evidence to demonstrate that the proposed merger would significantly reduce competition in the console, library subscription services, or cloud gaming markets.

The trial for the FTC’s lawsuit, set to take place in the FTC’s in-house court, is scheduled to begin in August. The FTC’s injunction request to Corley aimed to prevent the merger before the trial commences.

If the deal is finalized, it will be the largest acquisition of a video game company in U.S. history.

— Irina Ivanova contributed to this report.