FTC plans to appeal court ruling in favour of Microsoft Activision acquisition

Earlier this week, a US judge ruled against the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the ruling, the judge stated that the FTC simply did not provide enough evidence to prove a theory of harm. Now, the FTC has announced plans to appeal the ruling. 

After five days of hearings and months of evidence gathering, the FTC's case for an injunction against the deal was ultimately underwhelming. While other regulators like the European Commission and the UK's CMA had ruled out a console-based theory of harm revolving around the potential impact the acquisition could have on Sony's PlayStation business, the FTC decided to run with exactly that.

Throughout the hearing, the FTC tried to paint the picture that Microsoft would make Call of Duty exclusive, despite having offered access to COD to more companies than Activision ever has. The FTC also tried to downplay the Nintendo Switch's position in the market, as well as Microsoft's contractual agreements with rival companies like Nintendo, Nvidia and others. In the end, the arguments didn't have enough evidence to back them up.

Given how lacking the FTC's case was, many did not think the regulator would try to file an appeal but the FTC has surprised everyone once again. The FTC is now appealing the judge's ruling and will attempt to seek emergency relief to try and stop the acquisition from closing in the next few days. If this relief is granted, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard may just walk away from the deal, which is likely the exact outcome the FTC is hoping for. If both companies choose to soldier on, there will be another trial held later this year and the final decision may not arrive for multiple years.

Microsoft is obviously annoyed with this turn of events. Microsoft President, Brad Smith, has already issued the following statement: “The District Court’s ruling makes crystal clear that this acquisition is good for both competition and consumers. We’re disappointed that the FTC is continuing to pursue what has become a demonstrably weak case, and we will oppose further efforts to delay the ability to move forward.”

Microsoft is currently trying to iron things out with the CMA and is already preparing to close the acquisition by Monday the 17th of July. Activision Blizzard is already in the process of being removed from the Nasdaq stock exchange.

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KitGuru Says: Things will move fast over the next few days but if the FTC can't get a court to play along with its demands in time, Microsoft will own Activision Blizzard by Monday. 

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