Activision Blizzard and Microsoft on Wednesday extended the deadline for the close of their $69 billion deal by three months to Oct. 18 as the U.S. companies work to secure UK approval for the biggest gaming deal in history.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's bid to temporarily stop the deal was denied twice, first by a federal judge and then by anBritain's Competition and Markets Authority had earlier decided to block the deal, but reversed courseand extended its deadline for a final ruling to Aug. 29 after the U.S. court ruling left Britain alone in opposition.
Microsoft was trying to extend the contract to make sure Activision is not wooed by another potential acquirer or has a change of heart, Reuters reported earlier this week. Activision also posted second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with bookings and adjusted profit breezing past market estimates thanks to the strength of its "Call of Duty" franchise.
"We expect to deliver strong financial performance for the full year, driven by the successful reinvigoration of the Diablo franchise," CEO Bobby Kotick said. Activision shares were little changed on the news, while Microsoft traded 0.5% higher after a series of price target increases from brokerages including Barclays.The FTC said the deal could let Microsoft degrade Activision's game quality or player experience on rival consoles like Nintendo
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