Activision Blizzard stock to be delisted from NASDAQ amidst FTC appeal of Microsoft deal

He FTC has filed an appeal on Tuesday’s federal court decision to deny a preliminary injunction against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The FTC’s appeal was filed the same day. NASDAQ announced that Activision Blizzard will be delisted from the NASDAQ stock market next Monday, July 17 in preparation for the Microsoft acquisition on July 18.

This is a pressing matter for both companies because if the deal doesn’t close by the 18th, Microsoft will have to shell out more than $3 billion to Activision Blizzard and renegotiate the acquisition deal.

The settlement may not go through, as the FTC could ask the appeals court to extend its temporary restraining order against Microsoft before the court decides whether to allow an appeal. The restraining order ends on Friday, July 14 at 3 pm ET.

However, if the appeals court does not extend the temporary restraining order, Microsoft will be able to acquire Activision Blizzard before the July 18 deadline.

At press time, the merger has been approved by the EU and 39 countries, with the UK being the main hurdle; however, Microsoft is currently working with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to amend the acquisition to address the CMA’s concerns in a mutually acceptable manner.