Posted in: Activision, Blizzard, Games, Video Games | Tagged: activision, activision blizzard, Blizzard Entertainment, microsoft, Xbox Game Studios

Activision Blizzard Shareholder Files Lawsuit Alleging SEC Violations

Published Sun, 27 Feb 2022 11:43:11 -0600

by Gavin Sheehan

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In the latest twist to the continuing Activision Blizzard saga, a shareholder has filed a lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit, which was filed in California by shareholder Kyle Watson this past Thursday, is focused on alleged violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 as a result of Activision Blizzard's efforts to sell the company to Microsoft. According to Watson's lawyers, the proposed transaction which was outlined in an SEC proposal is unfair for a number of reasons which spin out of how the sales process was conducted.

The suit claims in part that current directors and executive officers of Activision Blizzard including CEO Bobby Kotick will receive significant "golden parachute" packages as a result of the transaction, and that the details of these packages are not available to public shareholders of the company. Shortly after this suit was made public, a second shareholder lawsuit was filed in New York by shareholder Shiva Stein, who is bringing up many of the same concerns and that a lot of the disclosure behind the deal "isn't good enough".

The shorthand to a lot of this is that shareholder Watson wants the transaction to be blocked until the alleged SEC violations are addressed, or in the absence of that asks to be awarded damages based on a fair and accurate assessment of the value of the transaction. Or as the suit concludes:

Enjoining the Proposed Transaction;
In the event Defendants consummate the Proposed Transaction, rescinding it and setting it aside or awarding rescissory damages to Plaintiff;
Directing the Individual Defendants to comply with the Exchange Act to disseminate a Preliminary Proxy Statement that does not contain any untrue statements of material facts required in it or necessary to make the statements contained therein not misleading;
Awarding Plaintiff the costs of this action, including reasonable allowance for Plaintiff's attorneys' and experts' fees; and
Granting such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

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