Microsoft
is reportedly seeking to extend the agreed deadline for its $69 billion acquisition of videogame maker
Activision Blizzard.
The two companies are in the final stages of closing and Microsoft looks keen to avoid any possible disruption at the last minute.
Microsoft
(ticker: MSFT) wants to extend the acquisition contract with
Activision
(ATVI), Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The contract is due to expire on Tuesday and its expiration would give either company the right to walk away from the deal.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Barron’s early on Tuesday.
Activision shares were down 0.3% at $92.92 in premarket trading Tuesday, hovering just below the acquisition price of $95 a share. Microsoft shares were down 0.2%.
The extension isn’t likely to disrupt the deal, with the companies working together to remove the last obstacles to closing. Over the weekend, Microsoft said it signed a binding agreement to keep the Call of Duty franchise on
Sony’s
(SONY) PlayStation consoles following the acquisition of Activision, pacifying the biggest opponent of the deal in the videogame industry.
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority is the last major regulator that could still block the deal, after initially rejecting it over concerns about the effects on cloud gaming. The CMA has pushed the deadline for its final decision to Aug. 29 as it considers a submission from Microsoft.
The details of that submission haven’t been made public but Bloomberg has reported that Microsoft and Activision would consider relinquishing some control of their U.K. cloud-gaming business to address the CMA’s concerns, potentially selling cloud-based market rights to another company.
Write to Adam Clark at [email protected]
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