Federal judge temporarily blocks Microsoft/Activision deal

A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking Microsoft's long-planned acquisition of Activision, pending hearings on the preliminary injunction being sought by the Federal Trade Commission in the case.

The temporary order issued by District Court Judge Jacqueline Corley doesn't do much to suggest which way the court is leaning on the merits of the FTC's case. A Microsoft spokesperson even acknowledged to the Associated Press that "a temporary restraining order makes sense until we can receive a decision from the Court, which is moving swiftly."

The order "maintain[s] the status quo," as Judge Corley puts it, by preventing Microsoft and Activision from closing their deal while a more permanent decision on the injunction is pending. And while Microsoft and Activision have said in the past that they will wait for the regulatory process to finish before completing their proposed deal, the FTC told Yahoo Finance that they sought the restraining order based on "public reporting that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are considering closing their deal imminently."