US judge rules Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal can move forward

On Tuesday, a judge in the US ruled that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) can move forward with its acquisition of videogame firm Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). The judge is said to have rejected antitrust enforcers' request for a preliminary injunction that would have temporarily halted the $69 billion deal.

In further good news for the potential deal, not long after the ruling, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, which had previously objected to the deal, stated it was ready to consider Microsoft's proposals to resolve antitrust concerns. Microsoft reacted by stating it is considering how the deal could be modified to manage the concerns.

Activision shares are up more than 10% at the time of writing, trading at around $91.70.

On the US side, the US court in San Francisco gave the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) until July 14 to appeal the judge's decision.

Previously, the FTC asked the judge to halt the proposed deal, claiming it would give Xbox owner Microsoft exclusive access to Activision games, such as best-selling "Call of Duty." The concerns regarded whether the acquisition would prevent the availability of those games on other platforms.

The Judge, Jacqueline Scott Corley, stated that "the FTC has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets."

Meanwhile, the FTC was said to have commented that it is disappointed in the outcome.

By Sam Boughedda

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