May 7 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday

rejected a legal challenge by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission

to Microsoft's ( MSFT ) $69 billion purchase of "Call of Duty"

maker Activision Blizzard.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

upheld a lower judge's order that said the FTC was not entitled

to a preliminary injunction blocking the deal, which closed in

2023.