Microsoft, Activision extend deal deadline to Oct. 18
Companies originally agreed to close deal by July 18
Activision Blizzard and Microsoft agreed on Wednesday to extend the deadline for their merger agreement to Oct. 18 as the companies continue to work on gaining approval from regulators.
"Given global regulatory approvals and the companies’ confidence that CMA now recognizes there are remedies available to meet their concerns in the UK, the Activision Blizzard and Microsoft boards of directors have authorized the companies not to terminate the deal until after October 18," Activision Blizzard CCO Lulu Cheng Meservey said in a tweet.
The two U.S. companies originally agreed to close the deal by July 18, but U.S. regulatory efforts to block the takeover and Britain's push to restructure it have delayed the close.
On Tuesday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan rejected a last-minute attempt to stop Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.
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A group of gamers filed a request asking the high court for an emergency injunction to halt the merger and prevent Microsoft from gaining control of popular games like Call of Duty, Candy Crush and World of Warcraft.
Copies of Call of Duty: Ghosts are displayed during a launch event for the game at a GameStop store on Nov. 4, 2013, in North Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
"You can see in this case how fearmongering from the FTC has misled a small number of gamers about the stakes of the Microsoft-Activision deal," said Stephen Kent, media director at the Consumer Choice Center.
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Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, speaks during a House Appropriation Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) bid to temporarily stop the deal was denied twice, first by a federal judge and then by an appeals court.
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The FTC declined to comment. Microsoft and Activision did not respond to inquiries from FOX Business.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 410.54 | +1.20 | +0.29% |
| ATVI | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had earlier decided to block the deal, but reversed course last week and extended its deadline for a final ruling to Aug. 29 after the U.S. court ruling left Britain alone in opposition.
Regulators in both countries have varying concerns over the deal.
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Reuters contributed to this report.