After five days of filing evidence, a California judge today denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This means that the United States will be able to proceed with the deal.
We haven’t crossed the finish line yet — remember, the deal is still blocked in the UK — but today’s results show that Microsoft is in full swing with its US acquisitions, Bring means you can start fulfilling a legally binding promise call of duty For Nintendo game consoles.
The court filed a 53-page document earlier today in which Judge Corey upheld all of Microsoft’s claims, including “an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Switch.” Some of these conclusions are shown below.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision is said to be the largest in technology history. It deserves scrutiny. That scrutiny paid off, and Microsoft has promised in writing, in public, and in court that Call of Duty will continue to play on PlayStation for his decade on par with Xbox. Agreed with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Switch. And we’ve signed several deals to bring Activision’s content to several cloud gaming services for the first time.
The Court’s liability in this case is narrow. Despite these current circumstances, pending resolution of the FTC’s administrative litigation will determine whether the merger should, and possibly should, be cancelled. For the reasons explained, the court found that the FTC had not shown its potential to win the argument that this particular vertical integration in this particular industry could materially weaken competition. On the contrary, documentary evidence shows that consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content is on the rise. Accordingly, the motion for preliminary injunction was denied.
In response to the ruling, Microsoft President Brad Smith issued the following statement: twitterthe company thanked the court as follows:
Court hearings mean Microsoft will have to complete a deal with Activision by the July 18th deadline, but the deal is still blocked in the UK, allowing Microsoft to appeal to competition market authorities. It will remain as it is until Decided on July 28th.
Either the UK will lead the way in concluding an agreement, or the CMA needs to take a willingness to negotiate now that both the US and EU have approved the agreement. I wouldn’t be surprised if the July 18th deadline is extended so that the CMA hearings can take place first.
Smith again took to Twitter to release another statement about the CMA. He said that while Microsoft still disagrees with the CMA’s position, the company is currently “considering how to modify the deal to address these concerns.”
The deal isn’t closed yet, but it certainly seems like things are going in Microsoft’s favor.
Do you think the CMA will be upset now that the FTC’s request has been denied? Will the debate really continue longer? Let us know what you think in the comments.
