FTC v. Microsoft is over, and the judge has decided to deny the FTC’s preliminary injunction request.
European regulators gave the deal the go-ahead in May, so Microsoft could now technically close without the UK and without an injunction in the US preventing it. That’s a complicated scenario though, so we’ll likely see Microsoft and Activision Blizzard temporarily extend their merger agreement to cover the CMA appeal process instead
It’s not clear to me what “without the UK” means?
It would have meant that the companies operate separately inside the UK, but even that now appears to be settled: https://twitter.com/jordannovet/status/1678791895449841665
Does it? That tweet sounds like both Microsoft & Activision and the CMA have agreed to pursue an appeal ASAP, not that Microsoft/Activision have the go ahead from the UK?
UK is the only one to block the deal, and microsoft is willing to pull out of the UK market if it meant Activision buyout would go through.