FTC to appeal Microsoft/Activision Blizzard merger
The Federal Trade Commission will appeal a decision that allows Microsoft to close its $69 billion merger with Activision Blizzard.
CNN
The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that it would appeal the decision of a district judge earlier this week allowing Microsoft's $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition to be completed.
The FTC failed to stop the merger after claiming that Microsoft (MSFT), which controls major video games titles like 'Call of Duty', would have exclusive control of the deal.
US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley announced Tuesday that she would not stop Microsoft from closing its deal, as requested by the FTC.
The FTC requested a preliminary injunction, while the FTC's internal administrative court is deciding a separate lawsuit challenging the merger.
The decision on Tuesday paved the path for Microsoft to finalize its deal with Activision within a few days, before the contractual deadline of July 18. The companies could also mutually agree to extend the deadline.
Microsoft will become the world's third-largest video game publisher if the deal is consummated, behind Tencent and Sony.
Corley, in an opinion piece published on Tuesday, wrote that the US Government had not'shown it is likely succeed in its assertion that the combined firm would probably pull Call of Duty away from Sony PlayStation or that its ownership of Activision will substantially lessen the competition in the video games library subscription and cloud gaming market'.