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The 9th Circuit Court has now officially denied the FTC’s appeal request, thereby allowing Microsoft to close the Activision Blizzard deal in the US once the clock strikes 12 tonight.
Now, the UK’s competition and markets authority is the only governing body that’s currently standing between the tech giant and its acquisition of Activision after the CMA recently extended the deadline regarding their final decision to August 29. With the due date still being more than a month out, though, we may not be seeing an end to this saga until the aforementioned date. However, with the FTC now out of the picture, the writing is seemingly already on the wall.
ORIGINAL STORY FOLLOWS: Microsoft president Brad Smith has put out a new statement following the news that the FTC will be officially appealing its loss earlier this week in the latter’s court case to block the Xbox and Activision Blizzard merger.
Earlier this week, a judge ruled in favour of Microsoft, denying the FTC’s claims that the $68.7 billion dollar deal would pose a “clear threat to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services and consoles” after a week-long court hearing. The decision meant the deal could proceed in the US ahead of a July 18 deadline. However, as spotted by The Verge, the FTC announced that it would appeal this decision and officially registered its intent to do so around a day later.
Responding to the appeal, Smith’s statement in the early hours of this morning reads: “The District Court’s ruling makes crystal clear that this acquisition is good for both competition and consumers. We’re disappointed that the FTC is continuing to pursue what has become a demonstrably weak case, and we will oppose further efforts to delay the ability to move forward.” Similarly, Activision CCO Lulu Cheng Meservey added a similar sentiment. “The facts haven’t changed. We’re confident the US will remain among the 39 countries were the merger can close. We look forward to demonstrating the strength of our case in court – again.”
One of the countries the merger still can’t close yet is the UK, though a ‘stay of the litigation’ has been agreed by Microsoft, Activision and the CMA body to address the concerns. However, the CMA also noted that this may not necessarily result in a quick resolution in a statement to The Verge. “Whilst merging parties don’t have the opportunity to put forward new remedies once a final report has been issued, they can choose to restructure a deal, which can lead to a new merger investigation. Microsoft and Activision have indicated that they are considering how the transaction might be modified, and the CMA is prepared to engage with them on this basis.”
“These discussions remain at an early stage and the nature and timing of next steps will be determined in due course. While both parties have requested a pause in Microsoft’s appeal to allow these discussions to take place, the CMA decision set out in its final report still stands.”
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