More lawsuits have been added to the pile against Activision Blizzard, but this time it's by the company's own shareholders. As reported by Polygon, the lawsuits are over alleged Securities Exchange Act violations related to the company's acquisition by Microsoft.

The first lawsuit was filed last week by Kyle Watson in California, whose lawyers said that the acquisition was "unfair for a number of reasons". One of the reasons stated by the lawyers was that the board is trying to “procure for themselves and senior management [...] significant and immediate benefits.” The lawsuit claims that the acquisition of the company by Microsoft is not in the best interest of Activision Blizzard or its shareholders, but only benefits the board and management. It also pointed out that the likes of CEO Bobby Kotick, who is allegedly complicit in the harassment related issues at the company, will receive a “golden parachute” should he leave his role after the acquisition.

Additionally, Watson's lawsuit states that the SEC filing by Activision Blizzard is “materially misleading and incomplete,” and in violation of the Exchange Act. It asks that Activision Blizzard be ordered to release a new SEC statement with all the correct information. And of course, Watson is also seeking rescissory damages.

The second lawsuit has been filed by Shiva Stein in a New York court. While the complaints are pretty similar to that of Watson's, Polygon noted that Stein was "reportedly one of the most “prolific” securities plaintiffs in the United States". Stein has reportedly filed 124 securities lawsuits between 2018 and 2020.

Right now it's anybody's guess what will happen with regard to Bobby Kotick after the acquisition takes place. However, all eyes are on him, including that of Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin who is disturbed by reports of union busting at Raven.

"I am troubled by reports that describe significant changes to the organizational chart at Raven-announced by management shortly after the union drive began", said Baldwin. "These changes scatter quality assurance testers throughout the company, embedding them in inappropriate departments, possibly in an attempt to frustrate efforts by the testers to form a bargaining unit comprised only of quality assurance testers."

Posted: Feb 28, 2022 9:22 am
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://www.thegamer.com/shareholders-sue-activision-blizzard-over-microsoft-acquisition/