Activision jumps as court allows Microsoft's $69B acquisition to go forward
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Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) jumped 5% as a federal court allowed Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to go forward with its $69B acquisition of the videogame company, after the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block it.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco rejected the request from the FTC for a preliminary injunction to block the deal.
"For the reasons explained, 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," Corley wrote in her opinion. "To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. The motion for a preliminary injunction is therefore DENIED."
Time is ticking as the deal termination deadline of next Tuesday approaches, when the parties can decide to walk away, extend, or renegotiate the $95/share purchase of videogame giant Activision Blizzard (ATVI).
"Judge Corleyâs decision upon first reading is balanced, intelligent, correct, reasonable on the law and facts; it is respectful and doesn't "spike the football" in some way that would be intolerable to the FTC," Chris DeMuth Jr, Partner of Rangeley Capital, said in an interview with Seeking Alpha. 
While the FTC trial is crucial, M&A investors are also keenly focused on an appeals court in the UK, where the country's antitrust regulator blocked the deal earlier this year. The UK appeals court is set to hear the appeal on July 28.
Activision (ATVI) is still trading at a 8.8% discount to the $95/share deal price as investors wait on the appeal ruling of the UK CMA's block or the potential, as some have suggested, that Microsoft may try to close around the UK. 
 "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,â Activision Blizzard (ATVI) CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement on Tuesday.
The FTC last month filed a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition of Activision (ATVI), saying that the regulator feared Microsoft (MSFT) may try to close the purchase even though the FTC had originally challenged it in December.
The five-day trial, which included testimony from Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella and Activision (ATVI) CEO Kotick, concluded on June 29.
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