Activision Blizzard, Microsoft Extend $69 Billion Deal Deadline to October 18

The FTC said the deal could let Microsoft degrade Activision's game quality or player experience on rival consoles.

By Reuters | Updated: 19 July 2023 19:04 IST

Activision Blizzard, Microsoft Extend $69 Billion Deal Deadline to October 18

Photo Credit: Reuters

Microsoft responded to all concerns by offering 10-year licensing deals to rivals

Highlights

After August 29, deal termination will increase to $3.5 billion
The deal termination fee rise to $4.5 billion after September 15
The two US companies originally agreed to close the deal by July 18

Activision Blizzard said on Wednesday it has extended the deadline for the close of its $69 billion (roughly Rs. 5,66,200 crore) takeover by Microsoft to October 18 as the companies work to secure approval from the United Kingdom's antitrust authority.

The "Call of Duty" publisher said the companies also agreed to increase the deal termination fee to $3.5 billion (roughly Rs. 28,700 crore) from $3 billion (roughly Rs. 24,600 crore) if it does not close by August 29. The fee will further rise to $4.5 billion (roughly Rs. 36,900 crore) after September 15.

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.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

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.

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 August 29 after the U.S. court ruling left Britain alone in opposition.

Regulators in both countries have varying concerns over the deal.

Handheld Consoles May Be Required to Have Replaceable Batteries by 2027

The FTC said the deal could let Microsoft degrade Activision's game quality or player experience on rival consoles like Nintendo and Sony Group's PlayStation, as well as manipulate pricing or change terms or timing of access to Activision content.

The CMA questioned whether the deal could hinder competition in the cloud gaming industry, where users can play on any device using subscriptions such as the Xbox Game Pass that offer a wide selection of games.

Microsoft responded to these concerns by offering 10-year licensing deals to rivals after the deal closes. The latest was an agreement with Sony Group to keep "Call of Duty" on PlayStation, the biggest competitor to Microsoft's Xbox.

The Last of Us Part II Composer Suggests an Enhanced PS5 Version is Coming

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Will the Nothing Phone 2 serve as the successor to the Phone 1, or will the two co-exist? We discuss the company's recently launched handset and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.