The other part was his pursuit of a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction that would have prevented Microsoft from closing his deal while the FTC administrative process continued. A US federal judge denied the request for injunctive relief earlier this month, and an appeals court also denied his request to emergency stay the deal. However, the FTC is still appealing the denial of the preliminary injunction.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have yet to complete the acquisition and recently announced an extension to their mutually agreed deadline to October 18. The FTC could re-submit this administrative challenge, all while Microsoft continues to negotiate with the UK CMA. As we noted earlier this week, there are signs things may not take that long: Xbox head Phil Spencer told employees that the two companies “remain optimistic that we’ll get our acquisition across the finish line.”
