The FTC is Reportedly “Leaning Toward” Filing an Appeal Against Microsoft-Activision Court Ruling

Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard recently received a major boost when US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco brought recent proceedings betweem Microsoft and the FTC to a close by denying the latter an injunction against the proposed deal. However, the agency might be looking to reopen proceedings via an appeal.

That’s as per a new report published by Bloomberg, which claims that the FTC is “leaning toward” filing an appeal against the ruling. The agency has until Friday, July 14, to seek an emergency stay from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and as per Bloomberg’s report, though a final decision has yet to be made, an appeal could be formally filed as soon later today.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has also been facing stiff competition from the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its bid to acquire Activision Blizzard, though shortly after the FTC ruling, it emerged that the company and CMA had paused litigation and would be resuming negotations, with Microsoft looking to formally close the acquisition by July 18.