So it’s July 18th, and you know what that means: It’s national caviar day! And also national sour candy day! (Don’t use these things together.) Perhaps more importantly for our genre, Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard were expected to ink their merger deal on the deadline today, but now they might be giving themselves some extra time.
According to Reuters’ source, “The companies will continue to negotiate the extension if they do not have an agreement by the end of Tuesday.” Apparently, Microsoft is concerned that Activision could be “wooed” by another buyer or just back out entirely (and pocket $3B from Microsoft in doing so), hence the discussion of an extension.
As of last night, a London court agreed to a formal pause on the ongoing appeal in the UK, granting the request of both Microsoft and the Competition and Markets Authority for a two-month stay on the suit as the CMA mulls over Microsoft’s latest proposal to the CMA. “Based upon the discussion to date, both sides – Microsoft and the CMA – have confidence that Microsoft notifying a restructured transaction is capable of addressing the concerns that the CMA has identified,” a lawyer for the CMA says.
