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Closing date for Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) on Tuesday, and with last-minute regulatory action in the UK on Monday, companies are said to be looking at a small delay, rather than scrapping the deal.
especially After losing the US Federal Trade Commission in its efforts to block the deal, the biggest remaining hurdle was April’s order in the UK to block the deal pending negotiations.
The two companies are unlikely to close by Tuesday’s deadline, but have no intention of distancing themselves from each other and are instead working to extend the termination date until they can satisfy regulators, according to media reports.
After a conference Monday by the UK’s Competition Court of Appeal led to a conditional halt to the appeal process, attention is turning to how Microsoft might adjust its deal to mollify the UK’s competition and markets authority enough to raise its veto.
These talks could take days or even weeks, and the Capital Markets Authority has extended its target date to August 29.
The UK is the only major jurisdiction standing between Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI).