FTC Leaning Towards Appealing Microsoft Activision Verdict

According to sources at Bloomberg, the FTC could be looking to file an appeal against the Microsoft-Activision case as soon as today. 

A preliminary injunction was denied on Tuesday, which would have blocked the deal from being completed until the US regulator had been able to rule on various circumstances surrounding the case itself. 

Microsoft first announced that it was intending to purchase Activision Blizzard back in January 2022, in a deal that would be worth $69 billion dollars. However, the Federal Trade Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority both filed complaints in an attempt to block the acquisition due to a perceived monopoly, meaning both have to go through a court case against Microsoft to discuss the merger. While the FTC case has come to a conclusion in which Microsoft is now able to proceed with the Activision Blizzard merger, a CMA trial has yet to go underway and will take place later this year.