The Federal Trade Commission is not giving up on its attempt to block the $69 billion deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. As expected, the US regulator will be filing an appeal to the ruling that removed the deal’s biggest roadblock on Wednesday.
The FTC filed a notice that it will be appealing the decision by Jacqueline Scott Corley on the merger. Judge Corley wrote in the ruling, “To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content.”
The antitrust regulator submitted its notice to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. We won’t know the arguments until the full appeal is submitted, so the more legally minded among you following this unfolding drama will have to wait a bit.
If the appeal is successful, the preliminary injunction will prevent Microsoft and Activision Blizzard from finalizing the deal until the FTC rules on its administrative case against Microsoft. The hearing for the administrative case is scheduled to start on August 2.
Microsoft President Brad Smith commented on the appeal saying that the company is disappointed in the FTC pursuing its “demonstrably weak case.” Smith insists that the ruling clearly states that the acquisition is “good for both competition and consumers.”
“The District Court’s ruling makes crystal clear that this acquisition is good for both competition and consumers,” Smith said in a statement to The Verge. “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.”
“The facts haven’t changed,” Lulu Cheng Meservey, Activision Blizzard’s CCO and EVP of corporate affairs tweeted in reaction to the FTC appeal notice. “We’re confident the US will remain among the 39 countries where the merger can close. We look forward to reinforcing the strength of our case in court — again.”
https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1679279055613448195
Microsoft will still have to hurdle its appeal to the decision of the UK CMA. Microsoft cannot close its acquisition until after the UK competition watchdog rules on appeal. The tech giant and the CMA announced that the parties have agreed to pause the legal proceeding to negotiate following the US District Court ruling.
However, in an unexpected statement, the UK regulator warned Microsoft restructuring the deal could potentially “lead to a new merger investigation.” The CMA also revealed that its negotiations with the tech giant are still at an “early stage.”
We will now have to wait for the FTC to file its full appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the next weeks.
