Microsoft and Activision extend deadline to close $69 billion deal under close regulatory scrutiny

abcnews.go.com:

The deadline for Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard has been extended to as the companies seek to close a deal that has been opposed by regulators in the U.S. and the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority

The deadline for Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard has been extended as the companies seek to close a deal that has been challenged by regulators in the U.S., as well as by the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority.

Microsoft believes that pushing back the deadline to Oct. 18 will provide enough time to work through the remaining regulatory issues, said Brad Smith, the company's president.

“We are confident about our prospects for getting this deal across the finish line,” Smith said.

The extension comes with a bigger termination fee, should the deal be called off, and a number of other new agreements.

Tuesday marked an important deadline for the deal announced 18 months earlier. Both Microsoft and Activision had agreed that either party could walk away from the planned merger if it hadn’t closed by then, triggering Microsoft to potentially have to pay a $3 billion breakup fee unless both sides decided to renegotiate.

That termination fee has been increased to $3.5 billion with the extension. If the deal does not close by Sept. 15, it will increase to $4.5 billion.

“I am happy to share that based on our continued confidence in closing our deal, the Activision Blizzard and Microsoft boards have mutually agreed not to terminate the deal until after October 18,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a note to employees.

He emphasized that it's already been granted approval in 40 countries, which includes those in the