Microsoft just scored a significant win in its quest to shell out a record-breaking $69 billion for games publisher Activision Blizzard, with a San Francisco judge refusing to let the Federal Trade Commission block the deal while it’s investigating it. There also was some encouraging news from the U.K.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who initially granted the FTC a brief temporary restraining order against the deal last month, denied the FTC a more serious preliminary injunction today—and offered some pretty withering reasoning: “The Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition.” In other words, the FTC’s case will fail, so there’s no reason to hold up the acquisition.
