Activision block of 3.7M shares traded earlier

Rich Polk

A block of 3.7 million shares of video game maker Activision (OTC:AVTI) was sold for a price of $72.25/share earlier.

Goldman Sachs was said to have shopped the block earlier Monday, according to traders.

The sale may be considered noteworthy to investor as Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) agreed to sell itself to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in January in a $69 billion megadeal. The current deal spread of $23.68 indicates traders are a bit skeptical that regulators will approve the deal around the world, especially in the U.S., U.K. and Europe.

A report earlier this month said that a U.S. Federal Trade Commission's decision on the transaction may come as early as late November. The FTC staff are said to have significant concerns about the transaction, Dealreporter said, citing two sources.

The FTC in late March requested more information about the proposed ATVI/MSFT deal, opening an in-depth antitrust review of the transaction.

On Wednesday Microsoft complained about the influence of videogame console rival Sony (SONY) on UK regulators, as the country's competition watchdog published the full text of its decision to give a phase 2 probe to Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI).