Update: FTC Loses Appeal In Case Against Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition

gameinformer.com:

Update, 7/17/23:

The U.S. Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit has denied the Federal Trade Commission's appeal of a recent ruling in the regulator's case against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. 

Last week, California Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction in its case to block Microsoft and Xbox from acquiring the Call of Duty maker. The FTC sought this preliminary injunction to have the court order the tech giant to cease its attempt at acquiring Activision Blizzard for a colossal $69 billion. Following the court ruling, the FTC had until July 14 to file an appeal and it did so on July 12. Judge Corley quickly denied this appeal, as expected, and now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has also denied it, in a massive win for Microsoft. 

Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith tweeted Friday, «We appreciate the Ninth Circuit's swift response denying the FTC's motion to further delay the Activision deal. This brings us another step closer to the finish line in this marathon of global regulatory reviews.» 

With the FTC's appeal denied, Microsoft is all clear in the U.S. to complete its purchase of Activision Blizzard. However, the company must still contend with the Competition and Markets Authority in the U.K., which, in April, blocked this acquisition over cloud gaming concerns. However, after Judge Corley's ruling early last week, Microsoft announced it was pausing its appeal motions in the U.K. to instead attempt to negotiate something satisfactory for both it and the U.K. regulatory agency. 

Late last week, the CMA announced it had extended its own deadline in Microsoft's Activision Blizzard case to give it time to deliver a potentially