MSFT - Microsoft in pact to keep `Call of Duty' on Sony's PlayStation

2023-07-16 11:30:29 ET

Microsoft ( NASDAQ: MSFT ) said it signed a binding agreement to keep the videogame "Call of Duty'' on Sony's ( NYSE: SONY ) PlayStation following the completion of its acquisition of Activision ( NASDAQ: ATVI ).

"We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games," Phil Spencer, Microsoft's gaming chief, said on Twitter on Sunday.

The news comes after an appeals court on Friday denied the Federal Trade Commission's effort to have the $69 billion Activision deal paused as it appealed a decision on Tuesday that left the deal go forward. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request from the antitrust regulator, according to a court filing from a three-judge panel in San Francisco on Friday.

The $95 per share purchase of Activision ( ATVI ) has a termination date of Tuesday, when the parties can decide to walk away, extend, or renegotiate the $95 per share purchase of the videogame giant.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) had already struck agreements with the other gaming platforms, including a December deal with Nintendo ( OTCPK:NTDOY ) for 10-years of access to "Call of Duty."

While the U.S. has now approved the deal, Microsoft ( MSFT ) is still awaiting UK approval for the deal, where the country's antitrust regulator sued to block the $69 billion acquisition in April.

On Friday a UK appeals court set Monday for a hearing to consider requests by the UK's antitrust regulator and Microsoft ( MSFT ) to adjourn the proceeding as the parties discuss the Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI ) deal. The Competition Appeal Tribunal set Monday as the date for the case management conference, according to a listing on the tribunal's website on Friday.

More on Activision/Microsoft

• UK regulator extends deadline for Microsoft-Activision final order until Aug. 29
• Microsoft rises as UBS upgrades, citing stabilizing cloud spending, AI catalysts
• Activision CEO says highly unlikely appeals court would grant a stay in Microsoft case
• Microsoft gets 'trophy moment' with Activision court win: Wedbush
• Activision downgraded at Raymond James as Microsoft deal likely to close soon
• Microsoft offers to make small divestiture to meet UK objections on Activision - CNBC

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