As the Activision Blizzard buyout by Microsoft progresses, more details are coming out about just how the deal went down. That includes a new report that shows the talks to take over Activision Blizzard came just three days after a story alleging that CEO Bobby Kotick was not only aware of harassment happening within his company, but that he engaged in the mistreatment of several women with the firm.
Since the reports that Microsoft was purchasing Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick has garnered quite a bit of attention for various reasons. Several people voiced displeasure that the CEO might be benefiting from the buyout, despite the fact that his company is facing several lawsuits from employees and state agencies centering around the firm's alleged toxic workplace. It now appears that the toxic work environment played at least some part in acquisition talks starting up.
CNBC first spotted the details in an SEC regulatory filing on Friday that shows how and when the talks between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft went down. It shows that a report about Kotick knowing about a toxic work environment was published by the Wall Street Journal on November 16 and that on November 19 Xbox head Phil Spencer called Kotick and told him that Microsoft was "interested in discussing strategic opportunities.” Spencer then asked Kotick if he'd be available for a call with himself and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the following day.
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Over the next eight weeks, the two companies had ongoing discussions about how the Microsoft takeover would go. On January 18, almost exactly two months after the report regarding Activision Blizzard and the stewardship of the company by Kotick was published, the takeover was officially announced.
There have been some reports that Kotick wasn't in favor of Microsoft being the company that eventually become the owner of Activision Blizzard. That could be why people claimed that the CEO was both late to meetings about Microsoft and also reportedly repeatedly left those meetings early. There were also reports that Kotick preferred his company to merge with other big-name companies before the Microsoft offer was eventually accepted.
The new filing does seem to confirm what had previously been reported about just what happened and how the blockbuster deal came to be. That includes the fact that Spencer saw an opening after the report broke about Kotick and his company in the Wall Street Journal and Activision Blizzard's stock started to tank. It also shows that while Spencer expressed dismay over what that report alleged, it doesn't appear it was enough to keep Microsoft from pursuing an opening and eventually buying the other company.