Activision, Microsoft extend deadline to close $69 billion deal to Oct. 18

(Reuters) -Activision Blizzard said on Wednesday it has extended the deadline for the close of its $69 billion takeover by Microsoft (NASDAQ:) to Oct. 18 as the companies work to secure approval from the United Kingdom’s antitrust authority.

The two U.S. companies had originally agreed to close the deal by July 18, but U.S. regulatory efforts to block the takeover and Britain’s push to restructure it have delayed the close.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) bid to temporarily stop the deal was denied twice, first by a federal judge and then by an appeals court.

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had earlier decided to block the deal, but after the U.S. court ruling left Britain alone in opposition, it reversed course last week and extended its deadline for a final ruling to Aug. 29.