Just a little more wait!

A new update has revealed that Microsoft and the Call of Duty publisher Activision may end up extending their merger agreement regarding the $68.7 billion deal. Previously, people were expecting it to expire this month. But now, it might get stretched further. Simply put, the ambitious deal will now take a little more time to get closed. Meanwhile, the two companies will be able to settle issues with the UK CMA.

Microsoft and Activision are looking to extend merger agreement beyond July 18

As it is already known, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened the doors for Microsoft and Activision to seal the deal within the next six weeks in the UK. After their victory against the FTC in the USA, the Xbox maker and the gaming publisher are trying to resolve the concerns of CMA over the proposed acquisition.

The merger agreement between the Call of Duty publisher and Microsoft was due to expire on July 18th, 2023. Its termination would have meant that either of the two companies could walk away from the deal while taking a $3 billion fee. But given the Xbox maker’s big win over FTC, people close to the two firms have revealed that the agreement could receive an extension next week.

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In simple words, Microsoft and Activision are likely to increase the life of their merger agreement for the billion-dollar deal. Regarding CMA’s concerns, Microsoft might consider selling the cloud streaming rights to its catalog of numerous games to some other service provider in the United Kingdom. This means that the Xbox maker will then effectively distance itself from UK’s cloud gaming market.

Doing so will likely ease up CMA’s doubts on the proposed acquisition. Especially, regarding Microsoft’s power in the market after buying Activision Blizzard. Selling cloud gaming rights will imply that the Xbox won’t have too much control over the cloud gaming market in the near future.

As of now, the deal is still far from being closed but it won’t likely take too long to get sealed. Both the companies involved are trying their best to make it happen. Not to mention that their confidence is high after the verdict from Judge Corley in the case against FTC earlier this week. What are your thoughts on the overall situation related to this record-setting deal so far? Let us know in the comments down below.

Source: Financial Times

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