FTC appeal dismissed: Microsoft will be able to complete the acquisition of Activision Blizzard King

For the FTCit’s a second defeat in less than a week, a third if we count the knockdown suffered by Lina Kahn that same Friday, July 14, in the face of a flood of awkward questions from members of Congress. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the FTC’s request for an emergency injunction which was intended solely to block the takeover ofActivision Blizzard past the July 18 deadline. The three jurors didn’t even wait until the end of the day to deliver their verdict, which seems to mean that the FTC’s case was really too weak to deserve more time for analysis. Moreover, Judge Corley had already largely cleared the ground.

the 9th circuit has denied the FTC’s request for injunctive relief. Microsoft is now free to close its Activision Blizzard deal after 11:59PM PT today, as long as the UK situation can be resolved. Details here: https://t.co/Ya5BXe802N

—Tom Warren (@tomwarren) July 14, 2023

The appeals court’s decision also means that within a few hours (at 11:59 p.m. EST), and no doubt by the time you read this, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King will be free to conclude merger before July 18. And nothing will be able this time to prevent the procedure of repurchase from going to an end. It should be noted that the ongoing discussions between Microsoft and the CMA are absolutely not blocking the merger, especially since everything suggests that a reasonable solution could even be found between the two parties before the date of July 18. Crash Bandicoot in the Game Pass, so it’s probably very soon (for CoD, it’s a completely different matter of course…).