The next chapter in this long epic
Written by Michel Musters op Thursday 05 May 2022 08:32
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Activision Blizzard has been sued by New York City over Microsoft’s plan to acquire the company. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is said to have quickly looked for a buyer after previous indictments to avoid responsibility for the toxic work situation.
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The indictment was filed on April 28, Axios writes, and comes from the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, which owns shares in Activision Blizzard. They want access to the publisher’s financials, as this would show that Kotick’s leadership would have negatively impacted the company’s numbers.
Last year, Activision Blizzard was sued by the state of California for toxic work behavior. According to the new indictment, Kotick would have quickly looked for a possible buyer for the company, in order to avoid responsibility for what happened within the company.
Kotick would have had too much influence during the negotiations. Discussions with Microsoft surrounding an acquisition began on November 19, 2021, but the board of directors didn’t meet until December 1 to discuss the offer – at which time Kotick is said to have already notified Microsoft that he was interested in an acquisition, as long as there was a delay between the two. the $90 and $105 per share would be paid.
In January, it was announced that Activision Blizzard is open to an acquisition for $90 a share. “The speed with which Kotick has done this was to be expected as the acquisition could allow Kotick and his colleagues to avoid responsibility for their negligence and give them the opportunity to realize significant benefits, including significant bonuses that Kotick could receive. ” During the acquisition, Microsoft would pay much less for Activision Blizzard than the company is really worth.
It’s not clear how much the lawsuit could affect Microsoft’s potential acquisition of Activision Blizzard at this point. It has not yet been confirmed whether the acquisition will actually go through.
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