Activision Blizzard stock exit suggests Microsoft deal could close very soon

Activision Blizzard is set to leave the US stock exchange's top 100 index, a sign many believe reflects the company's confidence the Microsoft acquisition will close in the US.

That's according to NASDAQ on Yahoo News, revealing yesterday that Activision Blizzard would be leaving the stock exchange's top 100 index this weekend. The removal of Activision Blizzard from the index will actually kick in on Monday, July 17, so this weekend should be the end of the company on the stock exchange.

This indicates that Activision Blizzard believes the merger with Microsoft might well be completed this weekend. This would be a serious uptick in events, after the Federal Trade Commission was denied an injunction to halt the merger earlier this week, meaning Microsoft should be allowed to proceed with the acquisition as they originally planned.

It's worth noting the FTC has officially filed an appeal over the original decision, which Microsoft has said it's "disappointed" by. No matter, the acquisition should still technically be completed while the FTC's original investigation rumbles on until August, whatever the outcome of that investigation might be.

The other significant barrier for Microsoft and Activision Blizzard to overcome would be the CMA. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority previously recommended the country rule against the planned merger, and so far at least, they're the only country to officially rule against the proposed deal between the two companies.

This could mean Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard in the US, before turning its attention to tackling regulators in the UK. This is one possibility - the other is that the two companies ignore the UK ruling and take a regional approach to partnering, like putting Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass everywhere but the UK, for example.

Check out our upcoming Xbox Series X games guide for a look ahead at all the new-gen games coming to the console.