Январь 2010 Февраль 2010 Март 2010 Апрель 2010 Май 2010
Июнь 2010
Июль 2010 Август 2010
Сентябрь 2010
Октябрь 2010
Ноябрь 2010
Декабрь 2010
Январь 2011
Февраль 2011 Март 2011 Апрель 2011 Май 2011 Июнь 2011 Июль 2011 Август 2011
Сентябрь 2011
Октябрь 2011 Ноябрь 2011 Декабрь 2011 Январь 2012 Февраль 2012 Март 2012 Апрель 2012 Май 2012 Июнь 2012 Июль 2012 Август 2012 Сентябрь 2012 Октябрь 2012 Ноябрь 2012 Декабрь 2012 Январь 2013 Февраль 2013 Март 2013 Апрель 2013 Май 2013 Июнь 2013 Июль 2013 Август 2013 Сентябрь 2013 Октябрь 2013 Ноябрь 2013 Декабрь 2013 Январь 2014 Февраль 2014
Март 2014
Апрель 2014 Май 2014 Июнь 2014 Июль 2014 Август 2014 Сентябрь 2014 Октябрь 2014 Ноябрь 2014 Декабрь 2014 Январь 2015 Февраль 2015 Март 2015 Апрель 2015 Май 2015 Июнь 2015 Июль 2015 Август 2015 Сентябрь 2015 Октябрь 2015 Ноябрь 2015 Декабрь 2015 Январь 2016 Февраль 2016 Март 2016 Апрель 2016 Май 2016 Июнь 2016 Июль 2016 Август 2016 Сентябрь 2016 Октябрь 2016 Ноябрь 2016 Декабрь 2016 Январь 2017 Февраль 2017 Март 2017 Апрель 2017 Май 2017
Июнь 2017
Июль 2017
Август 2017 Сентябрь 2017 Октябрь 2017 Ноябрь 2017 Декабрь 2017 Январь 2018 Февраль 2018 Март 2018 Апрель 2018 Май 2018 Июнь 2018 Июль 2018 Август 2018 Сентябрь 2018 Октябрь 2018 Ноябрь 2018 Декабрь 2018 Январь 2019
Февраль 2019
Март 2019 Апрель 2019 Май 2019 Июнь 2019 Июль 2019 Август 2019 Сентябрь 2019 Октябрь 2019 Ноябрь 2019 Декабрь 2019 Январь 2020
Февраль 2020
Март 2020 Апрель 2020 Май 2020 Июнь 2020 Июль 2020 Август 2020 Сентябрь 2020 Октябрь 2020 Ноябрь 2020 Декабрь 2020 Январь 2021 Февраль 2021 Март 2021 Апрель 2021 Май 2021 Июнь 2021 Июль 2021 Август 2021 Сентябрь 2021 Октябрь 2021 Ноябрь 2021 Декабрь 2021 Январь 2022 Февраль 2022 Март 2022 Апрель 2022 Май 2022 Июнь 2022 Июль 2022 Август 2022 Сентябрь 2022 Октябрь 2022 Ноябрь 2022 Декабрь 2022 Январь 2023 Февраль 2023 Март 2023 Апрель 2023 Май 2023 Июнь 2023 Июль 2023 Август 2023 Сентябрь 2023 Октябрь 2023 Ноябрь 2023 Декабрь 2023 Январь 2024 Февраль 2024 Март 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29
30
31
Game News |

New York City sues Activision Blizzard, says Bobby Kotick is 'unfit' to negotiate the Microsoft buyout

 New York City sues Activision Blizzard, says Bobby Kotick is 'unfit' to negotiate the Microsoft buyout

Activision Blizzard is facing yet another lawsuit, this one filed by the New York City Employees' Retirement System and pension funds representing the city's fire department, police, and teachers. The suit, available via Axios, claims that CEO Bobby Kotick was "unfit to negotiate a sale of the company" to Microsoft, and made the deal in part to "escape liability" for his role in enabling workplace misconduct and abuse.

The plaintiffs say the lawsuit arises from an October 2021 demand to inspect Activision Blizzard's books and records as part of an investigation into its board of directors, specifically its "failure to maintain a safe and non-discriminatory working environment for its (specifically minority and female) employees, and failure to take action in response to repeated, grave allegations of misconduct, discrimination, and harassment by Activision’s senior executives."

Activision partially complied, according to the complaint, but then on January 18—while the inspection was ongoing—the company announced the acquisition deal with Microsoft. The plaintiffs say that agreement undervalues Activision Blizzard—not only on the basis of the share price premium, which the suit describes as "a paltry 1.16%,"  but also because it also does not account for the value of "derivative claims" the plaintiffs were developing separately against Activision Blizzard. Those claims will go away if and when Activision Blizzard becomes a Microsoft subsidiary.

The deal happened so quickly and at such a discount, the plaintiffs allege, because members of Activision Blizzard's board of directors, and Kotick in particular, "faced a strong likelihood of liability for breaches of fiduciary duty" for failing to address the allegations of widespread misconduct at the company.

"No longer," the lawsuit states. "With the announced merger, Kotick will be able to escape liability and accountability entirely, and will instead continue to serve as an executive after the merger closes. Worse, despite his potential liability for breaches of fiduciary duty, the Board allowed Kotick himself to negotiate the transaction with Microsoft. The Board’s decision to entrust Kotick with the negotiation process is inexcusable for the additional reason that Kotick stands to personally receive substantial material benefits whose value is not directly aligned with the merger price."

The suit also references the March 2022 purchase of roughly $108 million of Activision shares by Alexander von Furstenburg, Barry Diller, and David Geffen—all friends or associates of Kotick. That deal sparked investigations into possible insider trading by both the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"These highly suspicious trades stand to deliver the three Kotick affiliates a windfall of more than $100 million," the lawsuit states. "Kotick’s continued suspected misconduct even after the merger was agreed to further underscores the fact that Kotick was unfit to negotiate the merger on behalf of the company."

Attorney Richard Hoeg of Hoeg Law noted that the lawsuit is a "books and records request" relating to the initial demand for records—its demands include access to the information requested in its original 2021 filing, as well as expenses and legal fees incurred by the lawsuit and "further relief as the court deems just and proper"—and while the language is pointed Hoeg said it's unlikely to have a bearing on the acquisition, which was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders last week.

See more

"Ok, so this is a books and records request (not a more substantive lawsuit), it's not filed by the city but by funds that have an investment interest in Activision, and, to be frank, the 98% shareholder approval really harms the 'value is too low/improperly negotiated argument'," Hoeg tweeted. "It's not nothing, but compared to everything else Activision (and Microsoft) have going on...it's pretty darn close."

Still, hurdles remain. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is subject to regulatory approval, which could be troublesome, and while some lawsuits have been settled, others continue to pile up: In March an Activision Blizzard employee filed a lawsuit calling for Kotick's removal as CEO because of his failure to address the company's problems.

In an email sent to PC Gamer, an Activision Blizzard representative said the company will fight the complaint. "We disagree with the allegations made in this complaint and look forward to presenting our arguments to the Court," the rep said.



Читайте также

Разработчики Primal Conquest: Dino Era выпустили отдельную версию для РФ

Some of the biggest names in indie games are teaming up to put on a 'no fluff' showcase of new game announcements

NCsoft и ArenaNet официально подтвердили разработку MMORPG Guild Wars 3




Game24.pro — паблик игровых новостей в календарном формате на основе технологичной новостной информационно-поисковой системы с элементами искусственного интеллекта, гео-отбора и возможностью мгновенной публикации авторского контента в режиме Free Public. Game24.pro — ваши Game News сегодня и сейчас в Вашем городе.

Опубликовать свою новость, реплику, комментарий, анонс и т.д. можно мгновенно — здесь.



Персональные новости

Энергетические поля компенсируют растущие потребности в электроэнергии

Топливному компромиссу между Украиной и Азербайджаном пришел конец?

«Радио Зенит» – информационный партнер форума «Мы вместе. Спорт»

Выпуск ЦФА на платформе «Атомайз» поможет снизить нагрузку на экологию