Microsoft and Activision Blizzard extend the deadline for their acquisition deal by three months. The two companies announced this on Wednesday. The acquisition was expected to be completed by July 18, but the two companies are still negotiating with competition regulators.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have pushed back their acquisition deadline to October 18, 2023, Activision Blizzard writes. When announcing its quarterly results. This gives both parties three months to complete the takeover. The two companies are currently in talks with the British Competition and Markets Authority. This competition authority blocked the acquisition in April, but is now considering a new takeover proposal from Microsoft. The Capital Markets Authority will issue its new decision no later than August 28.

The acquisition deal between Microsoft and Activision had a Termination date From July 18th. If the takeover is not completed after that date, the parties will be allowed to break off the takeover. In this case, Microsoft would have had to pay Activision $3 billion. The deadline expired yesterday, but the two companies postponed it. For example, Microsoft and Activision can wait for the CMA’s decision.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have extended the deadline for the merger agreement to 10/18. We’re optimistic about getting this done, and excited to bring more games to more gamers everywhere.

– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 19, 2023

With the extension, some minor adjustments are made to the deal. If the acquisition is cut short after Aug. 29, Microsoft will have to pay Activision $3.5 billion instead of the current $3 billion. If the acquisition is canceled after September 15th, that amount would rise to $4.5 billion. The new agreement also includes changes to the Xbox Commercial Agreements that Activision Blizzard has signed with Microsoft. That should raise Activision to as much as $250 million in fiscal years 2023 and 2024. Exactly what these changes entail hasn’t been revealed.

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been under pressure for a long time, but it’s increasingly likely that a deal could happen. The US Federal Trade Commission attempted to block the takeover by a initial listing While his investigation is still ongoing, but he lost a court case because of it. The FTC has appealed this ruling, although Microsoft may complete the acquisition before issuing a ruling on this appeal.

Just minutes after the ruling in the FTC lawsuit was announced, it became clear that the UK Capital Markets Authority was also reconsidering its blockade. The Capital Markets Authority blocked the acquisition because it could hinder competition in the cloud gaming market. Microsoft allegedly offered to “restructure” the acquisition to address the CMA’s concerns. What exactly this means is unknown. The company is considering selling cloud gaming rights within the UK, according to Bloomberg’s sources, but that hasn’t been officially confirmed yet.