Activision Blizzard and Microsoft have today extended the deadline for the close of their $69 billion deal by three months to October 18 as the US companies work to secure UK approval for the biggest gaming deal in history.
The amended agreement also increases the deal termination fee to $3.5 billion from $3 billion if it does not close by August 29, and to $4.5 billion after September 15.
The companies originally agreed to close the deal by July 18, but US regulatory efforts to block the takeover and Britain's push to restructure it have delayed the close.
The US Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) bid to temporarily stop the deal was denied twice, first by a federal judge and then by an appeals court.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had earlier decided to block the deal, but reversed course last week and extended its deadline for a final ruling to August 29 after the US court ruling left Britain alone in opposition.
Microsoft was trying to extend the contract to make sure Activision is not wooed by another potential acquirer or has a change of heart, Reuters reported earlier this week.
Activision also posted second-quarter earnings today, with bookings and adjusted profit breezing past market estimates thanks to the strength of its "Call of Duty" franchise.
"We expect to deliver strong financial performance for the full year, driven by the successful reinvigoration of the Diablo franchise," CEO Bobby Kotick said.
The two companies have faced varying concerns over their deal from regulators in the UK and the US.
The FTC said the deal could let Microsoft degrade Activision's game quality or player experience on rival consoles like Nintendo and Sony's PlayStation, as well as manipulate pricing or change terms or timing of access to Activision content.
The CMA questioned whether the deal could hinder competition in the cloud gaming industry, where users can play on any device using subscriptions such as the Xbox Game Pass that offer a wide selection of games.
Microsoft responded to these concerns by offering 10-year licensing deals to rivals after the deal closes.
The latest was an agreement with Sony to keep "Call of Duty" on PlayStation, the biggest competitor to Microsoft's Xbox.
