As was expected, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to extend the deadline for the massive acquisition to October 18. The nearly $70 billion deal was meant to expire on July 18, and it was reported yesterday that the two companies were in talks to extend the deal.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been met with intense regulatory scrutiny from across the globe. Recently, the acquisition was cleared in the United States after the FTC lost in court to Microsoft. All that is left is the UK’s CMA.
The CMA and Microsoft have agreed to negotiate in order to close the deal as quickly as possible.
If Microsoft and Activision do not close the deal by October 18, 2023, then Microsoft must pay a $3.5 billion termination fee if the deal is canceled after August 29. The fee was originally meant to be $3 billion. If the deal does not go through after September 15, the termination fee will be $4.5 billion.
Despite this, Activision and Microsoft are both confident that the deal will be resolved before the expiration date in October. Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, posted to Twitter: “We’re optimistic about getting this [deal] done, and excited about bringing more games to more players everywhere.”
The road to completing the deal has been a long one for Microsoft, with many companies pitching their opinions regarding the acquisition. The scrutiny surrounding the deal centered mainly around Call of Duty and later cloud gaming. PlayStation has since signed a 10-year deal for Call of Duty.
Want more DZSH with you? Sign up for our newsletter today for fun games, updates, and more!
Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
