Activision ticks higher as investors await ruling in Microsoft FTC case
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Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) ticked higher by 0.5%, at least partly as investors await a judge's decision in the Federal Trade Commission's efforts to block the $69 billion videogame acquisition.
A U.S. District Judge in San Francisco may decide this week if Microsoft can move forward with its planned $95 per share Activision (ATVI) deal or if the tech giant will be thwarted in its efforts. 
Time is ticking as the deal termination deadline of next Tuesday approaches, when the parties can decide to walk away, extend, or renegotiate the deal.
"This is going to decide whether the deal goes forward," Beth Wilkinson, an attorney representing Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), said at the court hearing last month. "Because If we can't close by July 18 and the court enjoins the transaction, to go through the three year administrative nightmare, nobody could withstand that, and we certainly can't."
A decision is likely to come from Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley after the close of trading at some point this week, CNBC's David Faber said earlier Monday. 
The FTC last month filed a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition of videogame behemoth 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 Bobbi Kotick, concluded on June 29.
While the FTC trial is crucial, M&A investors are also keenly focused on the appeals court in the UK, where the country's antitrust regulator blocked the deal earlier this year. A UK appeals court is set to hear the appeal on July 28.

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