ATVI - U.S. Supreme Court denies gamers request to block Activision/Microsoft deal

2023-07-18 15:31:05 ET

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by some video gamers to halt Microsoft' ( NASDAQ: MSFT ) planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision ( NASDAQ: ATVI ).

The gamers, who were defeated in their efforts to block the videogame megadeal in March, filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court on Monday to block the deal. The application from the video gamers was denied on Wednesday, according to a court filing.

The news comes as a midnight termination deadline for the $69 billion deadline deal nears. The two companies aren't likely to close by the deadline, but they don't intend to walk away from each other and are instead working on an extension to the termination deadline, according to media reports.

The Federal Trade Commission also failed in its effort to block the Activision ( ATVI ) deal a week ago when a federal judge in San Francisco denied the antitrust regulator's request for a preliminary injunction. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley made the ruling and also ruled against the video gamers in March.

The FTC is evaluating its options after losing court battles last week to try to halt the deal. The options for the FTC include pursuing its fight in the internal FTC court, continuing its appeal in federal court, settling with Microsoft ( MSFT ), or simply walking away, according to a Reuters report on Monday.

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