Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard will be a jackpot for the video game company’s CEO – in the pot is SEK 5 billion if he is forced to leave.
Bobby KotickCEO of Activision Blizzard, has an agreement that gives him $ 14.4 million in severance pay – parachute in everyday speech – if he is fired or for various reasons is forced to quit within a year in connection with a change of ownership of the company.
It writes The Wall Street Journal and refers to a securities application.
It also states that Bobby Kotick owns 4.3 million shares in the video game company and has the right to acquire an additional 2.2 million shares that are stated to be worth more than $ 500 million, seen at the current price of $ 95 per share.
Shareholders say okay to Microsoft’s bid
This means that Activision Blizzard’s CEO can potentially pay out 520 million dollars, ie about 5 billion kronor, if he can leave when Microsoft completes its planned purchase of the video game company, which is the publisher of the popular game Call of Duty, states WSJ.
On Thursday, Activision Blizzard stated that the shareholders have accepted the acquisition from Microsoft.
The acquisition is now awaiting regulatory approval and according to both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, the deal is expected to close in the spring of 2023.
Bobby Kotick, 59, has been the video game company’s CEO since he and several other people acquired the company’s assets in 1991.
According to the company’s own statement, Kotick received $ 155 million in compensation in 2020, and WSJ says that this makes him the second highest paid CEO among the companies listed on the S&P 500.
Top salary and already rich in shares
He is undeniably one of the highest paid tops among technology companies on Wall Street, apart from the fact that he cashed in a substantial return on the Activision Blizzard share.
In 2013, according to a spokeswoman for the video game company, Kotick bought shares for $ 50 million in the company and together with other shareholders in the company, he has been able to enjoy a 500 percent increase in value in the share over the past eight years.
According to the documents that the WSJ now refers to, Bobby Kotick received $ 826,549 in compensation for his performance in Activision Blizzard 2021.
Also read: Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard for 600 billion [Dagens PS]
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