The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had requested that the agreement be frozen pending an investigation into antitrust issues.
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The verdict refers solely to the urgent procedure and not to the substance of the matter, which will be decided later. A court hearing is scheduled for the end of August.
The competition regulatory authority had initiated the process, based on information published in the press “which suggested that (Microsoft and Activision) were seriously considering completing the acquisition” despite opposition from several regulatory bodies, according to the document filed in mid-June.
In addition to the FTC, its British equivalent, the CMA, vetoed the agreement in the name of market competition for cloud games (played remotely, without the need for download).
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The president of the Microsoft, Brad Smith, announced this Tuesday that the group would present proposals to the CMA to try to “address (their) concerns” about the Activision acquisition “in an acceptable manner”. And it suspended the appeal filed in the British Court against the body's initial veto.
“We are willing to study any proposal from Microsoft to restructure the operation so that the problems can be resolved”, reacted a CMA spokesperson.
The European Commission approved the acquisition in May.
This purchase will make the IT giant the third largest player in the sector, in an operation estimated at 69 billion dollars (approximately R$356 billion at the time), according to the estimate published at the time of the official announcement in January 2022.
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Despite being only an urgent procedure, the court decision considerably weakened the legal foundations of the FTC, which, in any case, could move forward with the case.
“The FTC has not demonstrated that it is able to prove that this transition could weaken competition in this industry,” wrote federal judge Jaquelina Scott Corley.
“We are grateful to the San Francisco court for this quick and exhaustive decision and hope that other jurisdictions will continue working to achieve a quick resolution” of the ongoing litigation, says the president of the Microsoft in a statement in which he assures that the group wants to “respond to the concerns of regulators”.
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AFP contacted the FTC, but so far, the agency has not responded.
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