Microsoft & Activision Have Missed Their Deal Deadline – What’s Going On?

gameranx.com:

It is now July 19, a day after the deadline set for Microsoft and Activision to complete their merger acquisition deal. So what’s going on?

Yesterday, we reported on a tip that Microsoft was negotiating for an extension of said deal. Neither Microsoft nor Activision would respond to the press to confirm or deny this claim.

Today, as Tom Warren notes, Microsoft and Activision have yet to speak up about the end of that deadline.

There are a few possibilities that we can only speak about because neither party is sharing information to the public.

Let’s discuss what we assume is the default. Microsoft and Activision miss their deadline, and there is no extension for that deal.

Now that the FTC has been set aside definitively, Microsoft only has the CMA to deal with. The CMA is now also working with Microsoft to get approval of the deal as soon as possible.

Furthermore, Microsoft signed up large deals with PlayStation, Nintendo, Nvidia, and others to provide Call of Duty games to their platforms. This arrangement eliminates the issue that Call of Duty games would be made exclusive, and also demonstrates the industry’s support for the deal

In other words, the actual roadblocks to the deal happening have been mostly eliminated. It’s merely a matter of time before Microsoft can finalize their deal with Activision.

In other words, the deal is expected to still go through. There is no reason for Microsoft or Activision to back out now. If either side did, it would be a clear harm to the company’s interests, and whoever would make such a decision would open themselves up to getting replaced or fired.

If that’s the case, then what’s with all the silence? One logical explanation could be that Microsoft and Activision are busy