Yahoo News Microsoft Extends $69B Activision Blizzard Merger Deal Deadline
Microsoft Corp. has extended its agreement for a $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard to Oct. 18, 2023, to surmount remaining regulatory hurdles to creating one of the largest video game developers worldwide.
The original deal contract was set to expire on July 18. After negotiations, the merger deal deadline has been extended in return for Microsoft agreeing to pay Activision Blizzard from $3 billion to $3.5 billion should the merger deal be terminated after Aug. 29, and $4.5 billion if canceled after Sept. 15. Both sides agreed the termination fee will only be paid if the merger deal fails to close.
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“The recent decision in the U.S. and approvals in 40 countries all validate that the deal is good for competition, players, and the future of gaming. 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. We’re confident in our next steps and that our deal will quickly close,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson said in a statement obtained by THR.
To complete the deal, Microsoft has to overcome objections by the U.K.’s competition enforcer after the U.S. tech giant made changes to the acquisition agreement to obtain approval of the merger. In addition, a federal judge in the U.S. recently refused to block the deal to create a video game behemoth on grounds Microsoft’s ownership of Activision won’t suppress competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets.
The deal, if it goes through, will marry Microsoft — which owns the Xbox console and a game streaming service — with Activision — maker of Call of Duty, Diablo and Candy Crush — as the company maps out an aggressive expansion of its gaming arm.
News of the deal extension came as Activision Blizzard released its second quarter financial results. “While we continue to have concerns about the economy and growing industry competition, we remain focused on the long term opportunities ahead and completing our merger with Microsoft,” Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, said in a statement that accompanied the quarterly results.
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