The judge ruled that the FTC lacked to show how the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft will lessen competition in the gaming industry.
Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI) closed Tuesday trading at $90.99, up 10 percent from the day’s opening price. Similarly, it was bullish for the $2.47 trillion valued Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) after federal judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) motion for a preliminary injunction in the Activision Blizzard acquisition deal. Notably, Judge Corley argued that the FTC lacked to show how the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft will lessen competition in the gaming industry.
As a result, the closure of the acquisition deal continues and is scheduled to complete by July 18 if all goes to plan. The move was previously in limbo after both the US and UK regulators closed the acquisition deal. With the FTC out of the picture, Microsoft can now focus on resolving its difference with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the United Kingdom.
“We’re optimistic that today’s ruling signals a path to full regulatory approval elsewhere around the globe, and we stand ready to work with UK regulators to address any remaining concerns so our merger can quickly close,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick noted in a memo on Tuesday.
As a result, Activision Blizzard’s merger with Microsoft has been given a green light in 39 countries having proved not to hurt the competition in the industry. Moreover, Kotick told employees that the merger is for the good of the industry and will continue working until full regulatory approval is obtained.
Activision Blizzard Under Microsoft Spell
According to the FTC, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is a huge threat to the cloud gaming, subscription services, and consoles industry. As a result, the FTC vowed to keep fighting the termination of the merger deal in a bid to preserve competition and protect consumers. Furthermore, the FTC believes Microsoft will make Activision Blizzard part of its exclusive games and prevent Sony’s PlayStation or Nintendo’s Switch from accessing the games. However, Microsoft has denied the allegations and noted that it intends to make Activision Blizzard games more widely accessible to the global gaming community.
Trading around $90.80 during the after-hours, Activision Blizzard shares are valued at approximately $65 billion. It means that they have risen approximately 19 percent YTD. Irrespective of Microsoft’s merger deal, Activision Blizzard has a bright future in the cloud gaming industry. Moreover, 22 Wall Street analysts issued an average recommendation of Overweight and a price target of $90.95.
Meanwhile, Microsoft shares have risen approximately 39 percent YTD to trade around $332 during the after-hours trading session on Tuesday.
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