Activision Blizzard Is Now Being Sued By NYC For Rushing To Sell The Company

gamespot.com:

Following news that Microsoft is purchasing Activision Blizzard in an unprecedented $70 billion dollar deal, a new lawsuit has been filed against the the Call of Duty publisher. Filed by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System on April 26, the suit claims that CEO Bobby Kotick's rush to sell Activision following accusations of workplace misconduct has negatively impacted the company's value, ultimately devaluing the stock they own.

According to Axios, the lawsuit alleges Kotick was «unfit to negotiate a sale of the company» given his «personal responsibility and liability for Activision’s broken workplace.» New York claims that deal not only hurt their financial holdings, but also served as a way for Kotick and other Activision directors to «escape liability for their egregious breaches of fiduciary duty.»

Thanks to an action permitted by Delaware's Court of Chancery, New York City is therefore allowed to press Activision to «open their books and potentially expose wrongdoing.» New York City is demanding that Activision provide numerous documents related to the Microsoft deal, as well as information regarding other possible buyers, descriptions of the sales talks, board memos, and more. When GameSpot reached out to Activision Blizzard to comment on the lawsuit, a representative said, «We disagree with the allegations made in this complaint and look forward to presenting our arguments to the Court.”

This is not the first time the city has pressed Activision for internal documents. According to the report, New York City has been asking for reports regarding Activision's toxic workplace since last fall in an attempt to find out what Kotick knew of sexual misconduct at the company. This is also not the first lawsuit