2023-07-21 03:05:00
The most expensive purchase in the history of gaming will have another chapter and it is that the companies Microsoft and Activision Blizzard agreed to extend the deadline to close the deal until October. While the tech company won a US legal battle that cleared the way for it to close the acquisition, they expect a similar outcome in the UK.
“The recent decision in the United States and in the 40 countries This agreement shows that this agreement is good for the competition, the players and the future of gaming”, expressed the CCO and EVP of corporate affairs of Activision Blizzard, Lulu Cheng, on their social networks.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) failed to demonstrate before the Court of the northern country that the acquisition by Microsoft was going to generate a monopoly in the gaming industry. This ruling in favor of the company gave it the green light to close the purchase, however they still face a similar legal battle with the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
- 69.000
- Millions of dollars is the price Microsoft will pay to gain control of Activision Blizzard.
This is why Microsoft had two alternatives: The first was to close the agreement so that it is valid in the United States and the rest of the world (where they have an interest).and suspend services in the UK until the legal stumbling block is resolved. And the second era is to extend the deadline to close the agreement (which expired this week) until the situation is resolved before the CMA, with the aim of adding greater transparency.
Update on Activision Blizzard’s merger with Microsoft: agreement deadline extended
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…
— Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) July 19, 2023
The company leaned towards the latter and in agreement with the game developer Activision Blizzard they decided to move the deadline to celebrate the acquisition until October 18. The chosen date has to do with the fact that Microsoft and the CMA will meet once more in August, to resolve the case.
“Given global regulatory approvals (…) cWe are confident that the CMA now recognizes that there are alternatives available to meet your concerns in the UK. The boards of directors of Activision Blizzard and Microsoft authorized the companies not to terminate the agreement until following October 18,” Cheng added.
- US$ 3.500
- It is the clause that the companies set if one drops out of the pre-agreement before August.
For his part, from Microsoft, President Brad Smith assured that The three-month extension is designed to provide “sufficient” time to work on final regulatory issues.
Both companies agreed to establish a new clause that implies that, If either decides to get out of the merger before August 29, they must pay the other a sum of 3,500 million dollars. And following that date the sum increases to 4,500 million dollars, with a term until September 15.
The companies set new clauses that imply that if any of them want to get out of the agreement, they must pay a fine of 3.5 billion dollars that can escalate to 4.5 billion dollars.
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