Microsoft Wins FTC Court Case to Buy Activision Blizzard

It’s official: Microsoft wins its court battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to be able to buy Activision Blizzard (per The Verge), as Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley rejected the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction. This is separate from the antitrust case the FTC has going with Microsoft, but what it means is that the road has been cleared for now in the United States for Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard.

Judge Corley found Microsoft’s concessions offered in the past several months to be compelling, including its commitment to bring Call of Duty to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch for 10 years. She offered the following for her ruling:

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been described as the largest in tech history. It deserves scrutiny. That scrutiny has paid off: Microsoft has committed in writing, in public, and in court to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years on parity with Xbox. It made an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Switch. And it entered several agreements to for the first time bring Activision’s content to several cloud gaming services. This Court’s responsibility in this case is narrow. It is to decide if, notwithstanding these current circumstances, the merger should be halted—perhaps even terminated—pending resolution of the FTC administrative action. For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition. To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. The motion for a preliminary injunction is therefore DENIED.

As expected, Microsoft is pleased with the victory, with President and Vice Chair Brad Smith offering a statement: “We’re grateful to the Court in San Francisco for this quick and thorough decision and hope other jurisdictions will continue working towards a timely resolution. As we’ve demonstrated consistently throughout this process, we are committed to working creatively and collaboratively to address regulatory concerns.”

Microsoft has a deadline to purchase Activision Blizzard for July 18 — but, as The Verge puts it, “only if the company is willing to close around the UK or if the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is willing to negotiate some form of remedy.” The UK has tried to block the acquisition, and Microsoft will appeal that in a hearing beginning on July 28. Other European regulators have already approved of the deal. Rather than attempting to tiptoe around the UK altogether to close the deal, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard may expand their merger agreement to accommodate for the appeal currently going on in the UK.

If you read all of the above and are still thinking, “What does any of this mean?” it basically means that Microsoft very likely will buy Activision Blizzard and soon, but getting to the finish line will be a little more complicated with the UK to account for.