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Supreme Court Rejects Block On Activision Blizzard Acquisition

The Supreme Court has rejected a last-ditch effort to stop the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as the deal is set to happen.


In a bizarre twist to the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the Supreme Court has rejected a last-minute bid to get it halted in the United States. According to multiple reports today, a group of gamers got together and filed an emergency injunction with the highest court, attempting to block the merger at the last minute and get SCOTUS to take up the issue. The motion was denied by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan yesterday, making way for the acquisition to finally happen without further blockades. At least through the U.S. court system.

The move comes after a judge ruled in favor of Microsoft against the Federal Trade Commission, which sought to block the merger from happening earlier this year as other regions and countries approved the merger. The FTC tried to state that the acquisition would lead to a monopoly within the gaming industry, and throughout the court hearing, a LOT of information came out about how Microsoft and Sony operate, as well as what they apparently think of the market and other companies. But ultimately was shot down, making way for the $69 billion deal to move forward.

Xbox and Activision Blizzard, photo by Miguel Lagoa / Shutterstock.com.
Xbox and Activision Blizzard, photo by Miguel Lagoa / Shutterstock.com.

This final lawsuit was basically a last-ditch effort to stall the acquisition in the United States. Kagan, who reviews emergency applications to the Supreme Court from the Ninth Circuit, rejected the motion without comment or explanation. However, based on what's already been done and how the court usually takes on cases, it does seem the move may have been done due to the fact that it already went through the courts with the FTC as the primary prosecution. It could have been rejected on the basis of having already gone through the court with nothing new being added to this latest effort. We'll see if anyone else tries to throw some kind of legal thorn in the side of the deal, but at this point its pretty much a go.


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Gavin SheehanAbout Gavin Sheehan

Gavin is the current Games Editor for Bleeding Cool. He has been a lifelong geek who can chat with you about comics, television, video games, and even pro wrestling. He can also teach you how to play Star Trek chess, be your Mercy on Overwatch, recommend random cool music, and goes rogue in D&D. He also enjoys hundreds of other geeky things that can't be covered in a single paragraph. Follow @TheGavinSheehan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Hive, for random pictures and musings.
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