Microsoft and the video game publisher Activision Blizzard have extended the deadline for the acquisition of the second by the first to October 18, an additional period supposed to allow them to overcome the final regulatory obstacles, particularly in the United Kingdom.
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In return for the extension of the period allocated to finalize the transaction, Microsoft has agreed to increase the indemnity to be paid in the event of non-completion.
If the operation was not carried out by August 29, this penalty would increase to 3.5 billion dollars, against 3 billion initially, then to 4.5 billion after September 15.
This postponement gives Microsoft time to provide new guarantees to the British Competition Authority (CMA), which itself postponed the deadline for examining the file to August 29, after having initially opposed this takeover.
While the case was about to be decided in the British courts, Microsoft and the CMA agreed in early July to suspend the legal proceedings to try to find common ground, which will require new proposals from the group. of Redmond, Washington.
“I think they realized that the measures we were proposing were reasonable, and I think we will be able to go through with it,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said on CNBC.
The US competition authority, the FTC, also opposed this $75 billion takeover, but was dismissed by a California federal court in early July.
Even if all avenues of appeal have not been exhausted, the action of the FTC now appears doomed to failure, according to most observers.
“We could [d’ores et déjà] finalize in the United States due to legal developments,” said Wednesday, in an internal email consulted by AFP, Phil Spencer, the boss of Xbox, the Microsoft subsidiary dedicated to game consoles.
“They took note of the decisions of the courts. They know the facts, and the law. It seems appropriate for the FTC to give priority to other files,” said Bobby Kotick.
The European Commission approved this acquisition in May, which would make Microsoft the world’s third largest player in video games.
Also on Wednesday, Activision Blizzard released its quarterly results, which showed net profit more than doubled (+105%), to $587 million, and revenue up 34% to $2.2 billion. .
The growth of the group from Santa Monica (California) was driven by the launch of the fourth installment of the action role-playing game Diablo, which met with success.
Another growth driver is the 30% jump in microtransactions, purchases made by users within a game.
Despite these figures, the Activision title lost 0.79% around 3:30 p.m. GMT on Wall Street, while Microsoft, close to its highest level of the year, took 0.11%.