Sources close to the situationhave told Fox Business, a business news channel owned by the Fox News Media division of the Fox Corporation, that even if theMicrosoftacquisition should fail, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will “absolutely” retain his position as head of the company.
This assertion follows theWall Street Journal’s reportin January 2022, which stated that Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, was expected to step down due to allegations of sexual misconduct that he reportedly knew about for years but failed to address.
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The CEO responded to these allegations in a video messagetranscribed on the company’s website, in which he emphasized the company’s zero-tolerance policy toward inappropriate behavior in the workplace. He also dismissed the Wall Street Journal article that sparked the controversy as an inaccurate and misleading portrayal of the company and his leadership.
“Even if regulators were to derail the planned tie-up, he will absolutely remain at the gaming giant to run the company.” the sources told Fox Business. Furthermore, according to the same sources, there is still a strong belief within Activision that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which is considered to be the most important regulatory body in this merger case, will examine the numbers and determine that the acquisition will not negatively impact gamers, despite theCMA’s recent assertionthat it could lead to higher prices, limited options or reduced innovation for UK gamers.
Last year, Stephen Totilo of Axios Gamingobserved a notable statementin Activision’s main filing regarding the proposed sale to Microsoft, emphasizing that Microsoft and Bobby Kotick have not discussed or agreed on his employment status after the merger. More recently, he has openly expressed his desire for the deal to succeed and has accused Sony oftrying to sabotageit. He has also consistently warned UK regulators that it isin their best interestfor the deal to go through.
At the center of the delay in the approval of the Activision-Blizzard-Microsoft merger is theCall of DutyIP and access to it. Other major industry players such as Google and Nvidia have also raised concerns aboutMicrosoft’s potential monopolizationof Activision through its platforms and subscriptions following the acquisition.
Microsoft, which had expected to close its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard by June 30, has said it can no longer comment on the timeline after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block the deal on the grounds of reduced competition,according to Bloomberg.
