Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have officially pushed back the deadline for their merger to October to buy more time to gain approval from UK regulators.
Activision Blizzard Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs Lulu Cheng Meservey said at the twitter that a three-month extension was agreed to complete the negotiation, after failing to close the deal by the initial deadline of 18 July.
Now Microsoft needs to complete the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by October 18th. A higher termination fine was stipulated with the new date, which needs to be paid if one of the two parties decides to withdraw from the deal. It is US$ 3.5 billion if the negotiation is not completed by August 29th, and US$ 4.5 billion if we reach September 15th without conclusion.
Meservey stressed that the recent decision in the United States and approvals in 40 countries “validate that the agreement is good for competition, players and the future of gaming”.
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, also commented on the new deadline for Microsoft’s merger with Activision Blizzard, saying they are “optimistic to do this and excited to bring more games to more gamers everywhere.”
