The FTC may still be attempting to appeal the injunction to block the Microsoft Activision deal, but the gears are already moving within these companies, as you may say.
As reported by Windows Central, Activision is already making preparations to leave Stock Exchange listing. The NASDAQ 100 has already announced that Activision’s slot will be taken by a company named Trade Desk, a digital advertising company.
Obviously, this is the sort of move a company would be making if they are undergoing an acquisition, with their stocks now falling under the listing of the acquiring company.
This doesn’t necessarily mean the deal is a sure thing, but this move is more about the deadline that Microsoft and Activision are dealing with. Both parties agreed to July 18, 2023, as the deadline to finish the deal. While they technically can delay that deadline if it ever proves necessary, the date was announced well ahead of time to make sure all parties were prepared. That includes both Microsoft’s and Activision’s shareholders and board members.
Microsoft in particular is looking at a breakup fee of $ 3 billion that they may have to pay if the deal does not go through. Bigger than that, though, is the lost opportunity if regulators ultimately block the deal from happening.
Microsoft and Activision are also still having to deal with the CMA, the only one of the three regulators that have blocked the deal.
The CMA is sending mixed messaging right now, but the pertinent point is that they have asked the Competition Appeal Tribunal to pause their hearing, as the CMA and Microsoft have decided to renew talks about new remedies to get the deal approved.
The CMA says that if Microsoft pitches a remedy, they will go through the trouble of investigating said remedy, essentially starting the process over. This course of action won’t exactly be beneficial to UK gamers or the UK gaming market, especially if they’re in the position of being left behind while other countries and regions get new Activision Blizzard games.
But, substantially speaking, this process with the CMA won’t stop Microsoft and Activision from finalizing the deal since both countries are based in the US, making it primarily a US deal.
It also seems safe to assume Microsoft and Activision are also making other preparations for their merger in the background, while they wait for FTC’s final resort to end.
