Australia antitrust authority delays ruling on Microsoft's planned Activision purchase
Rich Polk

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission delayed its decision on Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) planned $69 billion purchase of video game giant Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI).
The formal date of Sept. 15 for a decision has been delayed, according to a filing on the agency's website earlier Thursday. The review started on June 16. The agency said the timeline was suspended pending receipt of information.
The news comes as the UK's antitrust authority last Thursday said it plans an in-depth review of the Activision (ATVI) acquisition. 
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told employees in a letter last Thursday that he still expects the deal to close in Microsoft's fiscal year ending in June 2023.
"We are fortunate to have already received approvals from a couple of countries, and the process with all of the regulators is generally moving along as we expected," Kotick wrote in the letter.
Microsoft (MSFT) announced its $69B deal to buy Activision Blizzard (ATVI) for $95 per share in cash in January. 
Last month, it was reported that Europe's antitrust regulator was looking into whether Microsoft's (MSFT) planned $69B purchase of Activision (ATVI)
may shut out rivals.