Microsoft Is Looking To Finalize Its Activision Blizzard Merger On October 13

It’s been a long and extremely winding road for Microsoft and Activision Blizzard with roadblocks at every turn, but it looks like both parties are finally on the verge of inking their $69 billion merger. Sources within the company report that Microsoft is looking to close the deal on Friday, October 13th. A bit ominous if you ask me, but it gives them a few days of wiggle room until the October 18th deadline.

It’s worth noting that while the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority had given its preliminary approval for the merger, it’s yet to give its final stamp of approval. The US Federal Trade Commission is also looking re-open its investigation into the matter and have filed for a new in-house hearing to block the deal at the tail end of September.

The FTC hearing won’t be scheduled to take place until 21 days after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the FTC’s appeal for the preliminary injunction that the US District Court of Northern California denied back in July. That will put the new evidentiary hearing to sometime in December or January 2024, which will likely prove to be a tougher battle for the FTC, assuming that the merger goes through later this month.