Earlier this week, a US judge ruled against the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the ruling, the judge stated that the FTC simply did not provide enough evidence to prove a theory of harm. Now, Microsoft is preparing to close the deal, with Activision Blizzard set to be delisted from the stock exchange on Monday. 

Nasdaq announced in a press release today that it is planning to remove its listing for Activision Blizzard on Monday the 17th of July, one day before the contractual deadline for Microsoft to complete the acquisition. Activision Blizzard's spot on Nasdaq will be taken by a different company, The Trade Desk Inc.

This essentially confirms that Microsoft is preparing to close the acquisition by next week. As the FTC did not secure a preliminary injunction, Microsoft will legally be allowed to complete the acquisition, although the FTC can still bring legal action later to try and force the companies to split.

This also shows that Microsoft is planning to close despite the UK's Competition and Markets Authority blocking the deal. Microsoft is currently holding a new round of talks with the CMA this week and has paused its appeal proceedings in hopes that an agreement can be reached with the CMA.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru Says: The deal might close by next week, but this saga is unfortunately not over, as Microsoft still has to deal with the CMA and later on, the FTC may still attempt to reverse the deal after the fact. 

Become a Patron!