The U.S. Federal Trade Commission would face hurdles in any appeal of a court's order on Tuesday that said Microsoft could move forward with its $69 billion acquisition of 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard , legal experts who specialize in competition law said.
, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said the FTC failed to meet its legal burden to put a preliminary block on the deal, which would become the largest-ever in the gaming industry.
The FTC had no immediate comment on whether it would appeal and what arguments it might make before a three-judge panel. Corley issued her ruling after an evidentiary hearing at which Microsoft and Activision"A lot of the power of the opinion on appeal comes down to an analysis of the factual record," said antitrust scholar Daniel Crane of University of Michigan Law School.
"The FTC may have difficulty on appeal establishing that fact - without which the case as they framed it goes away," Crane said. In her 53-page order, Corley said it was not enough for the FTC to argue that "a merger might lessen competition - the FTC must show the merger will probably substantially lessen competition."
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