After five days of intense trial, California judge Jacqueline Scott Corley (Jacqueline Scott Corley) yesterday rejected the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction, allowing Microsoft to complete the $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard.
Although regulators such as the CMA believe that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will harm consumers or the cloud gaming market, Judge Corley does not think so. She made it clear that the deal could hurt Sony, but benefit Call of Duty players and future players.
Activision Blizzard owns well-known game brands such as “World of Warcraft”, “Call of Duty”, and “Candy Crush Saga”. Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the largest merger and acquisition transaction in the history of the gaming industry.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argued that the deal would harm competition in the gaming market, undercut innovation and consumer choice, and filed a preliminary injunction request with the court in March in an attempt to block Microsoft’s July 18 deadline. before completing the transaction.
However, after hearing the testimony and arguments of both parties, Judge Corley believed that the FTC did not provide sufficient evidence that the transaction would significantly reduce competition, and therefore rejected the FTC’s request.
Meanwhile, Activision Blizzard also reacted to the decision. “Our merger will benefit both consumers and workers,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. continue to dominate our rapidly growing industry.”
