Microsoft's Activision acquisition moves ahead as judge rejects FTC injunction request
A judge has rejected the Federal Trade Commission's request for a preliminary injunction to prevent Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Both Microsoft and Activision said they'd abandon the blockbuster merger if Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted the injunction.
"Our merger will benefit consumers and workers. It will enable competition rather than allow entrenched market leaders to continue to dominate our rapidly growing industry.” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement.
"We're grateful to the court in San Francisco for this quick and thorough decision and hope other jurisdictions will continue working towards a timely resolution." Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith said. "As we've demonstrated consistently throughout this process, we are committed to working creatively and collaboratively to address regulatory concerns."
The FTC sued to block the merger last December and a hearing in its administrative proceeding is set for August 2nd. However, the merger agreement has a deadline of July 18th, so Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are eager to close the deal by then. Otherwise, Microsoft will be on the hook for a $3 billion breakup fee to Activision unless the two sides are able to renegotiate terms. As such, they wanted the court to review the FTC's injunction request swiftly.
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The companies claimed that, if the preliminary injunction were granted, it would "effectively block the transaction because the FTC's process is
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