New twist in the soap opera Activision-Blizzard. Already under fire from numerous legal proceedings, the publisher is also in the midst of a takeover at Microsoft, with control bodies such as the FTC keeping an eye on the grain. But a new actor comes to put spokes in the wheels with the company of Bobby Kotickand not least, since it is the city of New York, which announces to sue the publisher.
Bobby Kotick in the viewfinder
The website Axios reports that a complaint was filed on April 26 from a group of New York City officials who own shares in the company. The plaintiffs believe that Activision-Blizzard’s sale to Microsoft was rushed to protect Bobby Kotick from disciplinary action who could touch him. Because it is indeed Bobby Kotick and the members of the board of directors who are actually targeted by this lawsuit.
The plaintiffs indicate that given the revelations of Bobby Kotick’s inaction and involvement in the harassment and management issues, he should not have been able to negotiate such a deal with Microsoft. The group believes that this takeover allows Kotick and his friends to get out of this story unscathed, without major repercussions. But beyond the desire to see Kotick fall, plaintiffs believe sale of business was undervaluedgiven that the price was negotiated downward following the business.
The City of New York is now asking for access to numerous documents on this acquisition, in particular on the other potential buyers who were interested in the idea of acquiring the publisher. This is nothing new, since the city has requested access to a whole host of documents on the company since last fall, on the sidelines of the investigations revealed in the press.
There is no doubt that this complaint should be of interest to the FTC, which is investigating the takeover by Microsoft. We imagine that we are not yet at the end of our surprises with this story.
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