Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have announced the postponement of their agreed merger deadline—from July 18 (yesterday) to mid-October. This will grant them more time to deal with a sticky issue presented by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority blocking of the proposed $75 billion acquisition—on the grounds of potential deleterious effects within the cloud gaming market. Xbox boss, Phil Spencer made a short statement on the matter earlier today: "Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have extended the merger agreement deadline to 10/18. We're optimistic about getting this done, and excited about bringing more games to more players everywhere."

Lulu Cheng Meservey, CCO and EVP Corporate Affairs at Activision Blizzard, stated: "The recent decision in the U.S. and approvals in 40 countries all validate that the deal is good for competition, players, and the future of gaming. Given global regulatory approvals and the companies' confidence that CMA now recognizes there are remedies available to meet their concerns in the UK, the Activision Blizzard and Microsoft boards of directors have authorized the companies not to terminate the deal until after October 18. We're confident in our next steps and that our deal will quickly close."Brad Smith, Microsoft's vice chairman and president added: "Together with Activision, we are announcing the extension of our merger agreement to 10/18 to provide ample time to work through the final regulatory issues. We will honor all commitments agreed upon with the EC and other regulators and continue to work with the CMA on the issues raised in the UK. We are confident about our prospects for getting this deal across the finish line." Here shared a document that outlines newly agreed upon of terms:

Joint Statement on the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard Merger Agreement ExtensionMicrosoft and Activision Blizzard have jointly agreed to extend the merger agreement deadline from July 18, 2023 to October 18, 2023, to allow for additional time to resolve remaining regulatory concerns. Additional details related to the extension of the agreement:

• Activision Blizzard is entitled to pay $0.99 per share to its shareholders.
• Both parties have agreed that the deal termination fee is not subject to any condition other than failure to close.
• If the deal does not close by August 29, 2023 the termination fee payable by Microsoft if the agreement is terminated will increase from $3 billion to $3.5 billion. If the deal does not close by September 15, 2023, it will increase from $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion. Any termination fee will only be paid if the deal fails to close.