Federal Judge Denies FTC"s Request to Halt Microsoft"s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard A federal judge in Northern California has rejected the Federal Trade Commission"s (FTC) request to pause Microsoft"s $69 billion deal to purchase video game company Activision Blizzard. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled that the FTC has not raised serious concerns about the merger"s impact on competition in the console, library subscription services, or cloud gaming markets. The FTC had filed a motion appealing Corley"s decision, but she denied their request to put the acquisition on hold while the appeal is pending. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard had previously set a deadline of July 18 to complete the deal. The FTC initially sued to block the sale, arguing that it would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors and dominate the gaming industry. However, Corley"s ruling suggests that the FTC has not provided sufficient evidence to support its claims. The trial for the FTC"s lawsuit is scheduled to begin in August, but this recent ruling allows Microsoft to proceed with the acquisition in the meantime. If the deal goes through, it would be the largest acquisition of a video game company in U.S. history. This decision is seen as a win for Microsoft and a setback for the FTC"s efforts to regulate tech mergers more aggressively. The ruling highlights the challenge the FTC faces in proving anticompetitive behavior in the technology industry. The FTC"s Chair, Lina Khan, has been pushing for stricter antitrust measures against tech giants, but the agency has had limited success so far. The U.K."s Competition and Markets Authority is also opposing the Activision Blizzard takeover, and Microsoft is appealing their decision as well. Canadian regulators are investigating the deal and have raised concerns about its potential impact on competition. Despite these challenges, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are now one step closer to finalizing their merger, pending any further legal action or regulatory decisions. Sources: - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/microsoft-activision-blizzard-acquisition-ruling-ftc/ - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/05/technology/microsoft-activision-blizzard-ftc.html