A Federal Trade Commission official on Thursday dropped the agency’s case before an internal judge that sought to dam Microsoft’s $75 billion acquisition of Activision.
The agency is conducting a two-pronged attack on the proposed deal.
One was in a district court that declined to issue a preliminary injunction for the proposed deal last week.
The appellate court also rejected the request to remain the transaction.
![FTC Chair Lina Khan](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013998698.jpg?w=1024)
The second took place before an FTC administrative law judge, where the deal was scheduled to go to court on August 2. It was this attack that the agency stopped on Thursday under an order from FTC Secretary April Tabor.
Microsoft and Activision argued in a motion published Wednesday on the FTC’s website that the agency’s withdrawal of the case was each mandatory and in the general public interest.
![Microsoft and Activision Blizzard logos](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000012593133.jpg?w=1024)
“The district court had full opportunity to review the FTC’s claims and located that the Commission was unlikely to succeed on these claims for a lot of independent, sufficient reasons,” the businesses said of their filing.