A federal appeals court denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request to temporarily stop Microsoft (MSFT) from closing its acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI), removing one of the last hurdles to completing the $69 billion deal.
The decision made by a three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a ruling by a California federal district court judge on Tuesday saying it would not stop the transaction from moving forward while a separate FTC antitrust challenge plays out in court.
The deal still has to gain approval of UK regulators. The agency, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), on Tuesday paused its legal proceedings to block the acquisition in favor of renewed negotiations with Microsoft. Microsoft has agreed to pay Activision a $3 billion break up fee in the event the tie-up failed to close by that date.
“We appreciate the Ninth…
