Guess what we’re discussing today? If you guessed “anything other than Xbox’s $69 billion USD Activision Blizzard acquisition” you’d be very wrong.
Following recent developments in the US where the FTC has all but lost its case in attempting to delay or block the buyout, and Sony has come to the table to sign a 10-year agreement to keep Call of Duty on its platform, things over at the CMA in the UK have also begun to shift.
Originally scheduled to hear an appeal from Microsoft over its decision to block the deal in the UK, the CMA has reportedly made a joint submission with Microsoft and Activision to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (I’ve lost count of how many courts, tribunals and other formal hoops have been jumped through at this point) to put that all on ice and reach an agreement out of court. The CAT has since agreed to put a two-month pause on proceedings with the CMA saying it would reconsider the deal if a modified version of terms was put to it by Microsoft (thanks Reuters).
A CMA lawyer has been quoted as telling the tribunal, “Based upon the discussion to date, both sides – Microsoft and the CMA – have confidence that Microsoft notifying a restructured transaction is capable of addressing the concerns that the CMA has identified.”
Bloomberg also reports that the whole deal itself is set to be tied up later than planned, with Microsoft and Activision Blizzard obviously incredibly unlikely to have closed it by the original July 18th deadline. As per the original terms, this was the date when both parties could walk from the deal and Microsoft would be up for a $3 billion USD payment to Activision should the buyout be terminated. According to unnamed sources, both parties are apparently keen to continue to seek regulator approval before finalising the deal.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are nearing the finish line on their $69 billion deal, but aren’t likely to close it by a Tuesday deadline https://t.co/DuWR5iq2TD
— Bloomberg (@business) July 17, 2023
