Activision Shareholder Sues Activision Blizzard Over Microsoft Takeover Offer!

General news News 02/26/2022

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The shareholder is accusing Activision Blizzard of withholding information that would have been necessary for proper consideration before accepting the takeover offer.

The lawsuit was reported by Polygon. It was filed in California by Kyle Watson, who claims that the $68.7 billion offer is unfair for several reasons. According to him, what the publisher submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its preliminary proxy statement could be problematic.

According to Watson, it is a highly incomplete document, and he has been deprived of the information necessary to make an informed and rational decision. He claims it was done because Activision Blizzard wanted to encourage him to vote yes on the transaction. The publisher’s board of directors also “failed to create an independent committee composed of disinterested directors to run the sales process”, and he highlighted the payments that certain executives and directors receive.

The current Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick gets $14.6 million, but there are also Armin Zerza (CFO; $25.3 million); Daniel Alegre (COO; $29 million); Brian Bulatao (chief administrative officer; $11.3 million); Grant Dixton (chief legal officer; $14.8 million); and Claudine Naughton (former chief people officer; $2.1 million). As expected, a spokesperson for Activision Blizzard told Polygon, “We disagree with the allegations made in this complaint and look forward to presenting our arguments to the court.”

The lawsuit was filed for two counts of violations of the Exchange Act, and it demands a jury trial. It calls for the court to order Activision Blizzard to issue a new SEC pre-proxy statement with all omissions and without any of the “untrue statements.” If the acquisition is greenlit and completed, Watson will seek rescissory damages.

It isn’t the first lawsuit against Activision Blizzard (there are several, including the SEC itself investigating the company); Microsoft may have been tricky about the acquisition when it started the process with Kotick in November…

Source: Gamesindustry

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Angyal Anikó

Anikó, our news editor and communication manager, is more interested in the business side of the gaming industry. She worked at banks, and she has a vast knowledge of business life. Still, she likes puzzle and story-oriented games, like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, which is her favourite title. She also played The Sims 3, but after accidentally killing a whole sim family, swore not to play it again. (For our office address, email and phone number check out our IMPRESSUM)