Microsoft Can Close Its $75 Billion Buy of Activision Blizzard, Judge Rules

Microsoft can proceed with its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard after a federal judge ruled in favor of the merger, removing the U.S. obstacle to the deal.

July 11, 2023 . 8:48 PM

1 min read

Microsoft can close its $75 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, a federal judge ruled.
The ruling means there is no current U.S. obstacle to the two companies merging.
The companies are still seeking U.K. approval and it wasn’t clear Tuesday whether that holdup would delay closing.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in her opinion that the FTC hadn’t shown that Microsoft’s ownership of Activision games would hurt competition in the console or cloud-gaming markets.
The FTC can appeal the ruling, although that is uncommon for the agency.