The Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard isn't expected to close this week after the United Kingdom's Competition Appeal Tribunal paused the legal proceedings. Microsoft has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to acquire Activision Blizzard with a looming deadline, but things still may not be unfolding as anticipated.
With a recent Federal Trade Commission lawsuit victory behind it, Microsoft is slowly moving forward with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft made the offer for Activision Blizzard back in January 2022 for $68.7 billion, the biggest purchase of its kind if it goes through. Despite the FTC ruling, there are many more legal hurdles for Microsoft to overcome, including one in the UK which could dampen the expectations of Xbox fans waiting for the Activision Blizzard content.
A UK judge has paused the appeal process between Microsoft and the Competition Markets Authority that's expected to last for two months. Further negotiations will take place during this time frame which pushes things further back than July 28, the day that the trial was expected to begin. According to the legal filings, the CMA is open to renegotiating its terms regarding the Activision Blizzard deal which it initially saw as problematic due to potential cloud gaming monopolization in Microsoft's favor.
This legal case was caused by the CMA which blocked Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a decision that has since been appealed by Xbox's parent company. Microsoft had an expected merger deadline of July 18 which means that the acquisition may be going at a slower pace than the company originally anticipated. Because of this deadline and the ongoing negotiations, Microsoft may call for an extension to the acquisition so that it may continue to overcome the legal hurdles. Though the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal may be moving forward now, there's currently no conclusive end in sight for the legalities behind the scenes.
With PlayStation and Microsoft already having agreed upon terms for Call of Duty following the potential merger and the recent FTC lawsuit victory, negotiations may lead to more compromises. Given that the CAT judge has paused a trial that was set to begin towards the end of July, it's likely that the trial will be pushed into August or later. The CMA's challenge is among the biggest roadblocks left for Microsoft to overcome in Xbox gaining Activision Blizzard which may result in things moving a lot faster once the UK trial concludes.
Source: IGN