A federal judge on Tuesday ruled against the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to delay Microsoft’s $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, setting the stage for the tech giant and video game publisher to merge as soon as this month. .
in 53 pages In the decision, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said the FTC had failed to prove that the merger was likely to result in a substantial reduction of competition that would harm consumers. .,
It denied the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction, which could have delayed the deal’s closing until the agency could fight it in internal court.
The ruling marks a significant blow to the FTC’s efforts to more aggressively regulate blockbuster tech mergers. That strategy has been led by the agency’s chair, Leena Khan, who has argued that Big Tech’s massive influence on commerce and communications has led to anti-competitive behavior. FTC has filed a lawsuit Microsoft, meta And AmazonBut it walked away from one of its cases against Meta and has so far shown nothing for its efforts.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
