Four US senators ‘deeply concerned’ about proposed Xbox Activision merger
Four US senators have written to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to express their concern over the proposed merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.
It was announced in January that the Xbox maker intends to purchase Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal—the game industry’s biggest ever by some distance—that would give Microsoft exclusive ownership of franchises including Call of Duty, Warcraft, Overwatch, Crash Bandicoot and Guitar Hero.
The FTC is handling an antitrust review of the deal to determine whether the takeover constitutes unfair competition.
On Thursday, US senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse and Cory Booker sent a letter to FTC chairwoman Lina Khan expressing their concern that the deal “threatens worker-led demands for accountability” over allegations of sexual misconduct and discrimination at Activision Blizzard.
“The proposed merger has already impeded unionization efforts and undermined workers’ calls for accountability,” they wrote. “Over 1,800 Activision Blizzard employees signed a letter calling on Mr. Kotick to step down from the organization, one of union organizers’ key demands.
“However, Microsoft’s proposed deal with Activision Blizzard is protecting Mr. Kotick, keeping him in his role as CEO until at least 2023 and guaranteeing him hundreds of millions in profit and a potential additional golden parachute worth over $14.5 million if he does not step down voluntarily.
“This lack of accountability, despite shareholders, employees, and the public calling for Kotick to be held responsible for the culture he created, would be an unacceptable result of the proposed Microsoft acquisition.”
In response, an Activision spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal that no
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