A US federal judge on Tuesday resurrected Microsoft's $69 billion buyout of video game company Activision Blizzard by refusing to allow the temporary suspension of the long-delayed deal.
The US Federal Trade Commission, the Washington-based antitrust enforcer, requested that the blockbuster transaction be halted pending an investigation into competition concerns.
But Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said “the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim”.
The decision handed a major victory to Microsoft and allowed it to close its purchase of Activision, the maker of Call of Duty and Candy Crush, as planned on July 18.
Xbox-owner Microsoft launched a bid for Activision Blizzard early last year, seeking to establish the world's third biggest gaming firm by revenue after China's Tencent and Japan's PlayStation maker Sony.
While the EU has approved the deal, Microsoft still needs to overcome a veto from the Competition and Markets Authority in Britain.
Microsoft was set for an appeal hearing in London later this month, but the company on Tuesday said it would consider further ways to satisfy the CMA.
“We stand ready to consider any proposals from Microsoft to restructure the transaction in a way that would address the concerns,” a CMA representative said.
The FTC could also continue to pursue its case, though the judge's ruling weakened the legal foundations of that prospect considerably.
“We're grateful to the court in San Francisco for this quick and thorough decision and hope other jurisdictions will continue working towards a timely resolution,” said Microsoft president Brad Smith.
“As we've demonstrated consistently throughout this process, we are committed to working creatively and collaboratively to address regulatory concerns.”
The FTC in December sued to block the transaction with Activision Blizzard over concerns that it would stifle competition.
But Ms Corley said the remedies offered by Microsoft to assuage worries about the deal were effective to provide fair competition with archrivals Sony and Nintendo as well as other computer cloud operators of video games.
Instead of showing harm to competition, “to the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content”, she said.
The ruling dealt another defeat to the FTC, which is led by Lina Khan, an antitrust academic who had been an advocate of breaking up the biggest tech firms before she was nominated by President Joe Biden to the job in 2021.
In the same California court, Ms Khan lost an attempt to stop Meta, Facebook's parent company, from acquiring Within Unlimited, a fitness app start-up.
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Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UNSC Elections 2022-23
Seats open:
- Two for Africa Group
- One for Asia-Pacific Group (traditionally Arab state or Tunisia)
- One for Latin America and Caribbean Group
- One for Eastern Europe Group
Countries so far running:
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
ORDER OF PLAY ON SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
Court 2 - 2.30pm
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
Tsvetana Pironkova v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
RESULTS
1.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
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2pm Handicap (TB) Dh 84,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Karaginsky, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Sadeedd, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
3pm Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner Blue Sovereign, Clement Lecoeuvre, Erwan Charpy.
3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4pm Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Bladesmith, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh 68,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
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