Activision shareholder sues publisher over Microsoft acquisition

gamesindustry.biz:

James Batchelor

Editor-in-Chief

Friday 25th February 2022

At a glance:

Activision Blizzard faces yet another lawsuit, the latest being from one of its own shareholders over his complaints about the planned sale to Microsoft.

The lawsuit, shared by Polygon, was filed by Kyle Watson in California yesterday, and describes the proposed $68.7 billion sale as "unfair for a number of reasons."

The suit centres around the preliminary proxy statement that Activision Blizzard filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Watson claims the statement was "materially deficient" and deprived him of the information needed to make an informed and rational decision, something he claims was "an effort to solicit [me] to vote [my] Activision shares in favour of the proposed transaction."

The suit also claims the Activision board "failed to create an independent committee composed of disinterested directors to run the sales process."

It accuses the board of entering into the agreement to "procure for themselves and senior management of the company significant and immediate benefits," further arguing that these benefits create a conflict of interests.

There are also references to the 'golden parachute' payouts that some directors and executives will receive.

In addition to the previously reported $14.6 million that CEO Bobby Kotick will receive, the lawsuit claims other payouts will include $25.3 million for chief financial officer Armin Zerza, $29 million for chief operating officer Daniel Alegre, $11.3 million for chief administrative officer Brian Bulatao, $14.8 million for chief legal officer Grant Dixton and $2.1 million for chief human resources officer Claudine Naughton.

An Activision Blizzard spokesperson told Polygon: "We disagree