As the acquisition of Activision Blizzard byMicrosoftdraws to its apparent conclusion, another country has officially approved the pending $69 billion deal. Though this nation in particular is just one of a few other nations that have approved the deal thatMicrosoftintends to close in the near future, the announcement comes when the fate of the deal is all but assured.On Tuesday, July 11 Judge Jacqueline Scott Corey of the US District Court of Northern Californiaruled in favor of Microsoftas a preliminary injunction by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was denied. In her ruling, Judge Corey determined that the FTC did not show sufficient evidence that the acquisition would stifle competition and that the evidence they presented was contrary to their argument. Furthermore, Judge Corey stated that the FTC showed that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard would actually be beneficial to competition and that Microsoft’s commitment to bring theCall of Dutyfranchise to Nintendo systems is a case in point.RELATED:Leaked Microsoft Document Alleges Nintendo Switch Successor Is Coming Next YearIn terms of commitment to the deal, the government of Turkey announced it approved Microsoft’s acquisition on Thursday, July 13. The news was revealed on Twitter by Lulu Cheng Meservey, Activision Blizzard’s COO and EVP of Corporate Affairs. Meservey called Turkey’s approval of the deal a “thoughtful decision” and reiterated that the pending acquisition would benefit consumers and competitors. On the same day Turkey approved the deal,the FTC filed an appealwith the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against the district court’s decision to deny its preliminary injunction. The appeal was met with disapproval by Microsoft and by some social media users who were tired of the FTC’s efforts to stymie the deal. At the time of writing, the Ninth Circuit’s decision on the appeal was not determined.
However, Microsoft still has one major hurdle to clear in the coming days. Following the FTC’s defeat, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the United Kingdom haselected to renegotiate a deal with Microsoft. This effectively paused all pending litigation against the tech giant over an alleged monopoly of cloud-based gaming services in the UK. Back in late April, the UK’s CMA voted to block the acquisition deal on those grounds, and the move was condemned by British officials. The CMA has until August 29 to reach a decision.
Between the approval of the deal by Turkish officials andthe rise of Activision Blizzard’s stockfollowing the FTC’s defeat in court, Microsoft’s pending acquisition may finally come to an end soon. Only time will tell what the ramifications of these outstanding negotiations will be.
