FTC appealing judge’s ruling in Microsoft-Activision deal

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will appeal a California judge’s decision to allow Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard and its roster of games, according to a court filing with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco late Wednesday.

The FTC’s court filing about the appeal gave no details. The agency declined to comment on the matter.

In her Tuesday ruling, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco rejected the Biden administration’s argument the deal would hurt consumers by giving Xbox game console maker Microsoft exclusive access to games including the best-selling Call of Duty.

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Microsoft’s victory in court on Tuesday, and a subsequent climbdown by Britain’s competition authority, brought the tech giant two steps closer to finalizing its tie-up with Activision, Microsoft’s biggest deal ever.

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Still, any outstanding regulatory hurdle makes it more likely that the agreement between Microsoft and Activision will expire on July 18 without the deal having been completed. After July 18, either company will be free to walk away from the deal unless they negotiate an extension.

The Activision purchase would give Microsoft ownership of popular video game titles like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush.

“We’re confident the U.S. will remain among the 39 countries where the merger can close,” an Activision spokesperson said. “We look forward to reinforcing the strength of our case in court, again.”

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Microsoft said that the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies alike and has offered to sign a legally binding consent decree with the FTC to provide Call of Duty games to rivals for a decade.

Reuters contributed to this report.