Japan's FTC Gives Green Light to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition

The Japan Fair Trade Commission has approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, stating that the deal is "unlikely to result in substantially restraining competition." The $69 billion merger falls under the "safe harbor criteria for vertical business integrations" laid out in Japan's Antimonopoly Act. Microsoft is still campaigning to convince regulators in holdout countries, including the United States Federal Trade Commission, that the deal will not harm competition or increase costs for consumers.