U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in a ruling that the merger deserved scrutiny, noting it could be the largest in the history of the tech industry. But federal regulators were unable to show how it would cause serious harm and wouldn't likely prevail if they took it to a full trial, she wrote.
The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces antitrust laws, "has not raised serious questions regarding whether the proposed merger is likely to substantially lessen competition" between video game consoles or in the growing markets for monthly game subscriptions or cloud-based gaming, Corley said.
A ruling favorable to Microsoft was not a surprise after the company's lawyers had the upper hand in a 5-day San Francisco court hearing that ended late last month. The proceeding showcased testimony by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and longtime Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who both pledged to keep Activision's blockbuster game Call of Duty available to people who play it on consoles - particularly Sony's PlayStation that compete with Microsoft's Xbox.
"Our merger will benefit consumers and workers. It will enable competition rather than allow entrenched market leaders to continue to dominate our rapidly growing industry," Kotick said in a written statement after Tuesday's ruling.
The FTC had asked Corley to issue an injunction temporarily blocking Microsoft and Activision from closing the deal before the FTC's in-house judge can review it in an August trial.
Both companies suggested that such a delay would effectively force them to abandon the takeover agreement they signed nearly 18 months ago. Microsoft promised to pay Activision a $3 billion breakup fee if the deal doesn't close by July 18.
The FTC hasn't said whether it will appeal Corley's ruling.
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