Microsoft Can Close Its $75 Billion Buy of Activision Blizzard, Judge Rules

Microsoft can close its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a federal judge ruled, delivering a major setback to the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to rein in big mergers. The deal would combine Microsoft’s Xbox videogaming business with the publisher of popular franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. The ruling means there is no current US obstacle to the two companies merging. The companies are still seeking UK approval, and that effort got a boost when the UK's Competition and Markets Authority said it was prepared to consider new proposals from Microsoft for addressing its competition concerns. US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in her opinion that the FTC hadn’t shown that Microsoft’s ownership of Activision games would hurt competition in the console or cloud-gaming markets. “To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content,” she wrote. The FTC had sought an injunction to prevent the two companies from completing their mega-deal before the agency began a separate process to challenge it. The FTC can appeal the ruling, although that is uncommon for the agency. It also can continue with its challenge to block the deal. An FTC spokesman said the agency was disappointed by the decision and would announce its next steps in the coming days.