A U.S. federal judge has rejected the Federal Trade Commission's bid to halt Microsoft's $75B acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

 

A U.S. federal judge has rejected the Federal Trade Commission's bid to halt Microsoft's $75B acquisition of Activision Blizzard.  The judge states that the FTC failed to show evidence that the merger would negatively impact competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming sectors. Since Microsoft's bid announcement in January 2022, Activision's shares have increased by almost 11%, reaching $92, nearing the offer price of $95 per share. The decision dealt the high-profile antitrust lawsuit filed by the FTC under the Biden administration a blow. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has agreed to a delay of the U.K. litigation and is prepared to hear Microsoft's suggestions to modify the agreement to address its concerns. The vice-chair and president of Microsoft said they thank California for its judgment and say their attention now shifts back to the issues raised by the CMA.