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[Lunatic_Gamer]

Activision's executive management stands to receive hefty payouts of millions of dollars if the Microsoft-Activision merger goes through, but Activision CEO Bobby Kotick's company stock portfolio could be worth in excess of $400 million.

If Microsoft acquires ABK at $95 per share, there are a number of high-profile Activision executives that will receive big payouts. The company's largest executive shareholder is CEO Bobby Kotick, who currently owns 4,296,550 shares as per 2023's notice of annual meeting of shareholders.

FTC lawyer Jennifer Fleury brought up Kotick's share amount in the recent FTC v Microsoft federal case. During examination of the Activision CEO, Fleury asked:

Q You own 4.3 million shares of Activision?

That's a ballpark.

Q If the deal closes, then your stock would be worth $408 million?

With your own math, yes.

After Kotick answered this question and did not provide more clarification on his stock value, the FTC said "nothing further."

Assuming Kotick would get $95 a share for all of his owned shares, then the CEO could receive around $408,172,250. The annual report filing also indicates that Kotick has the right to acquire an additional 2.2 million shares, which could boost his shares to nearly 6.5 million and represent total share worth of $617 million.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick's stock would be worth $400 million if merger closes, FTC says

FTC lawyer does quick off-the-cuff math to determine Activision CEO Bobby Kotick's stock would be worth $400 million, which he doesn't directly clarify.

www.tweaktown.com

 

[FunkMiller]

Any reason this reprehensible cunt gives for wanting the acquisition to go through, other than lining his own pockets, can be safely ignored as bullshit.

 

[ToadMan]

And the sell was agreed at a low point for ATVI stock.

 

[kikkis]

Hopefully he starts Activision 2.0 with that money.

 

[N1tr0sOx1d3]

Hopefully he starts Activision 2.0 with that money.

Christ no! Don’t want that greasy toad anywhere near gaming ever again.

 

[Loomy]

Hopefully he starts Activision 2.0 with that money.

He didn't even start Activision 1.0

 

[crazepharmacist]

Hate him all you want but he’s done well for the company

 

[Garibaldi]

Yup. That's how shares work. I'm not seeing the problem here. The vast majority of CEO or high level executive positions are compensated with stock options. Stocks go up and down in value.

 

[Lasha]

Why is this interesting? His shares are worth around $360 million today without the deal. The shares were worth $440 million when Activision was at it's all time high. The shares were practically worthless before he took over the company.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Where does the deal stand now?

Fanboy arguments aside for and against the takeover, how likely is it that the CMA decision is overturned or that they find a way around it?

 

[In Cold Blood]

So what?

 

[Dirk Benedict]

I don't understand why you gotta make this guy a topic or a part of any news? He fucking wins no matter what happens. Whether you discuss him or not, he walks away with tens of millions, very easily. he lives rent free in your heads*, while money lives in his. He really does live a simple life, when you peel away all the complexities.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Yes, executives tend to make a lot of money in acquisitions.

 

[mortal]

So a rich guy will become even richer.

Not sure why this would be considered newsworthy.

 

[Gudji]

 

[MrA]

He didn't even start Activision 1.0

He figuratively did start activision 2.0 , in the early 90s he took quite the large personal financial risk to buy the shambling corpse of activision and successfully turned it into the giant it is today, might not like the guys policies but he took the risks that made him rich. Amazing how weirdly important pitfall the Mayan adventure is to video games as a whole

 

[Solidus_T]

Either way, Kotick is going to make a lot of money.

 

[ManaByte]

Yes, executives tend to make a lot of money in acquisitions.

Everyone here:

 

[MrA]

Everyone here:

Their own fault for not taking the risks and investing, this acquisition made me like 20% over night (well like 3 weeks bought a bunch at when cma published their findings in February sold up 20% in march)

 

[Don Carlo]

The real winner from this deal lol

 

[ReBurn]

We knew this in January of 2022.

 

[dem]

As opposed to the 362 million his stock worth right now..

Rich guy is rich

 

[Clear]

Bobby will cash out super-fast if MS takes over; its just a no-brainer for him.

The reality is I cannot imagine how the value of ABK is going to increase under MS. The narrative around the takeover is not building consumer confidence, and its only going to get worse the more MS adjusts to promote their platforms at the expense of others.

Being honest, the more I think about it the more outlandish I find the thought of it being in any way beneficial. CoD is just a horrible fit for MS' strategy, Zenimax properties I could at least see offering an upside to offset the risk, but this...

Sony's threat to deny PS6 devkits is a huge problem, because if they do that then they will effectively be in position to force MS' hand in terms of exclusivity even for F2P titles like Warzone.

 

[M1987]

Where does the deal stand now?

Fanboy arguments aside for and against the takeover, how likely is it that the CMA decision is overturned or that they find a way around it?

Not really any.If Microsoft win the appeal with the CAT then it goes back to the CMA who are highly unlikely to overturn their own decision

 

[gothmog]

Bobby's getting paid no matter how this plays out.

 

[AlexxKidd]

Their own fault for not taking the risks and investing, this acquisition made me like 20% over night (well like 3 weeks bought a bunch at when cma published their findings in February sold up 20% in march)

So your bank account went from like 10 bucks to 12 bucks. Hey, a win is a win!

 

[mckmas8808]

Where does the deal stand now?

Fanboy arguments aside for and against the takeover, how likely is it that the CMA decision is overturned or that they find a way around it?

Less than 10%.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Everyone here:

We shouldn’t be the community who cares about the rich people in the industry.

 

[poppabk]

Bobby will cash out super-fast if MS takes over; its just a no-brainer for him.

I'm not sure you understand how a cash purchase acquisition works.

 

[Clear]

I'm not sure you understand how a cash purchase acquisition works.

They aren't buying Bobby Kotick, they need him to stick around post-buyout for many reasons.

My point is that I see him staying only for the minimum amount of time and the maximum amount of benefit to him personally.

He's not stupid, he's probably more aware than anyone that they aren't going to enhance the value of his company because if there was "a better way of doing business" he'd be doing it already - say what you want about the man but his track record of business success speaks for itself.

If you were him, why would you stick around beholden to the whims of a less successful senior management team operating under corporate steering?

 

[MrA]

So your bank account went from like 10 bucks to 12 bucks. Hey, a win is a win!

Add a few 0s

 

[Success]

The man just keeps on winning.

I legit wonder if he actually plays video games.

 

[darrylgorn]

 

[Fatal Chuck Yeager]

"with your own math, yes"

lol never change Bobby.

 

[Edgelord79]

One of the best executives. One of the worst people based on all reports.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I initially thought it was +$400M. But it's really about +$48M as the stocks $95 buy out price is only about 13% more where the stock is now. His shares are worth about $360M now.

He might make another $48M, but the rest of shareholders make about $8.5 billion split across them.

At the current valuation of $66.3B, Kotick's $360M means he owns about 0.5% of Activision.

 

[Yoda]

The man just keeps on winning.

I legit wonder if he actually plays video games.

I believe in interviews he said he does not. He did admit to playing a game or two in the 80s or something like that if memory serves.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I believe in interviews he said he does not. He did admit to playing a game or two in the 80s or something like that if memory serves.

Not every CEO uses the company's products. And employees dont necessarily either. For many people, working at a company is simply a job. Not a loyalty pledge to use the company's products to go along with it. Some actors even say after they shoot a TV show or movie, they never even watch their own content. Sounds kind of weird, but some people just dont give a shit. They'll use or watch another product if they prefer it.

If it wasnt for Kotick and his buddy 30 years ago, sounds like Activision would had gone belly up. People might not like him, but he's a businessman right from the beginning.

Bobby Kotick - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Hip Hop]

Christ no! Don’t want that greasy toad anywhere near gaming ever again.

Would he translate well going into another industry and running a company the equivalent size of Activision?

 

[N1tr0sOx1d3]

Would he translate well going into another industry and running a company the equivalent size of Activision?

Probably yes. I’ve no doubt he knows how to make a company profitable, but let’s not forget about the abuse many colleague’s suffered under his watch.

 

[\m/etalStorm]

What do these peanuts matter if you already have ten lifetimes worth of cash? I would never work one second again. It's not like he is a famous Rockstar or something, where it's totally reasonable why they still go up on stage.
But if it makes him happy chasing bigger numbers, go ahead. Just wondering why he doesn't play games instead.