Microsoft Reportedly In Talks To Extend Activision Blizzard Deal Deadline

Microsoft is reportedly looking to extend the deadline for the Activision Blizzard purchase.

In a Reuters report, it's stated that Microsoft wants to get extra time on the contract to 'ensure that Activision Blizzard is not wooed by another potential acquirer or has a change of heart'. The contract in question expires today, July 18, with Microsoft legally obliged to pay Activision Blizzard $3 billion as a reverse termination fee if it cannot close the deal in time.

While Microsoft recently managed to get the deal through the courts of the Federal Trade Commission, they still have to go through a court case with the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK, for which they are still negotiating. If the deal does expire, then Microsoft or Activision can choose to walk away from the deal and return to regular business. While this is unlikely to happen, as both Activision Blizzard and Microsoft very clearly want to complete the deal, the threat is still there as a method of potentially increasing the price of the bid. 

Meanwhile, the 9th Circuit of Appeals is currently appealing the ruling that prevented them from getting an injunction to block the deal directly to the Supreme Court in America, which could cause the deal to be delayed even further.