California Lawyer Quits Over Allegation Newsom Meddled in Activision Case

Draugoth

Draugoth

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In an explosive allegation, one of the lawyers behind the Activision Blizzard discrimination suit says California Governor Gavin Newsom is interfering to support Activision and that he abruptly fired her boss. She is resigning in protest.
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Article by Jason Scheier
 
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Hmmm. Actually starting to wonder if MS will think twice about closing this deal if it turns into political theatre.
I doubt they'd expect things to get this messy.
 
elliot5 said:
Don't think they care when they get King and Blizzard and CoD
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Not saying they wouldn't pursue some form of acquisition still, but you need to think if the process of closing this initial deal turns into a longer and more convoluted deal than anticipated and involves a lot of political bullshit, they need to sell the idea to their share-holders that paying the hefty premium they are is justified when the goods are tainted.

If this blows up, then MS is looking to need to purge the company top-to-bottom post-takeover to get the stink off. And that's going to impact the value of the acquisition.
 
Clear said:
Not saying they wouldn't pursue some form of acquisition still, but you need to think if the process of closing this initial deal turns into a longer and more convoluted deal than anticipated and involves a lot of political bullshit, they need to sell the idea to their share-holders that paying the hefty premium they are is justified when the goods are tainted.

If this blows up, then MS is looking to need to purge the company top-to-bottom post-takeover to get the stink off. And that's going to impact the value of the acquisition.
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I would think purging bad actors would bring positive press which would help with their stock.
 
Clear said:
Not saying they wouldn't pursue some form of acquisition still, but you need to think if the process of closing this initial deal turns into a longer and more convoluted deal than anticipated and involves a lot of political bullshit, they need to sell the idea to their share-holders that paying the hefty premium they are is justified when the goods are tainted.

If this blows up, then MS is looking to need to purge the company top-to-bottom post-takeover to get the stink off. And that's going to impact the value of the acquisition.
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That's going to happen anyway. Microsoft just can't say that's what's going to happen. Kotick will be out and this is his, and much of AB's leadership team's, golden parachute. But the ink won't even be dry before they're out pursuing their dreams.
 
Could that mean that the lawsuit is cancelled?
If the lawyers of the suing party do not want to work on the case anymore, it's kind of telling.
 
elliot5 said:
I would think purging bad actors would bring positive press which would help with their stock.
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True, but again its short to mid-term disruption of business while they reorganize. Which is potentially yet more millions lost while they clean house.
This is a very big acquisition and a lot of people to integrate and/or replace.

Also you have to factor in the legal costs of everything, not to mention no doubt both parties will be shelling out loads to lobbyists in Washington to make sure that they get past regulatory scrutiny. You need to remember that the bi-partisan movement towards more controls on big-tech anti-trust was still embryonic when the deal was struck.

You have to wonder who would benefit from the deal being torpedoed too. Obviously the first thing to happen would be ABK's stocks tanking hard, but then what?
 
Man, I was initially excited about the idea of my game pass sub getting a huge leap in extra value, the idea of diablo 4, cod and other titles coming to game pass.

But now I'm just tired of reading all the drama, sounds like so much hassle.
 
elliot5 said:
I would think purging bad actors would bring positive press which would help with their stock.
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It's not just about press and stock prices.

The business they are acquiring makes video games. If the bad actors are significant contributors to the value of the gaming assets then purging them could be bad news from that perspective.
 
I somewhat acknowledge the prudence of Newsom intervening (allegedly) to allow MS to acquire Activision with less friction. I also do wonder if the state of CA was overzealous in their prosecution of Activision, but I'd need to review the totality of the evidence before deciding on the propriety of the agency's decisions.

Regardless, it's difficult to say if Newsom's actions are in bad faith to redress the grievances of those affected or if it allows for a more expedient resolution. But there are questions he needs to answer before I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
 
C2brixx said:
What does this have to do with the acquisition?
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It's everything attached to it. The lawsuits and allegations being leveled at Activision which instigated the buyout in the first place, which included a suicide. The Federal Trade Commission leaving out the Department of Justice to comb over the details and see if there are any violations. Senators calling out the deal. The revelation that Phil Spencer contacted Bobby Kottick directly, mere days after shit seriously hit the fan for him. The walkouts being staged by Raven Software over Activision's policy changes. Vicarious Visions being fully absorbed by Blizzard as a support team instead of functioning as its own studio like it had been. Now the California Governor interfering with the investigations.
 
Varteras said:
It's everything attached to it. The lawsuits and allegations being leveled at Activision which instigated the buyout in the first place, which included a suicide. The Federal Trade Commission leaving out the Department of Justice to comb over the details and see if there are any violations. Senators calling out the deal. The revelation that Phil Spencer contacted Bobby Kottick directly, mere days after shit seriously hit the fan for him. The walkouts being staged by Raven Software over Activision's policy changes. Vicarious Visions being fully absorbed by Blizzard as a support team instead of functioning as its own studio like it had been. Now the California Governor interfering with the investigations.
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On that long list, only Phil Spencer contacting Bobby Kottick has something to do with the acquisition directly
 
onesvenus said:
On that long list, only Phil Spencer contacting Bobby Kottick has something to do with the acquisition directly
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Everything on that list is swirling around the acquisition in some way. Having various effects on it. Some direct. Some indirect. Microsoft is buying a company that has a lot of shit going.
 
Clear said:
Hmmm. Actually starting to wonder if MS will think twice about closing this deal if it turns into political theatre.
I doubt they'd expect things to get this messy.
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Why would they? They bought the company because of the shitshow.

Tiago Rodrigues said:
The investigation, the case they are talking about was only even started because of this acquisition. Microsoft isn't related directly with the issue at hand here but it is because Activision is getting bought.
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No. The California lawsuit against Activision/Blizzard was started last year. MS is seeking to buy A/B precisely because of the negativity surrounding A/B's leadership because they know they can get a good deal.
 
Since neither Jason Schreier nor Gavin Newsom have ever had a correct opinion on anything, there has to be a scenario here where they are both wrong.
 
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Wow ny dems resigning left and right because of corruption and Californias dem governor acting corruptly once again.
Yet they are the " moral " party. 🤷‍♂️
 
Is it possible that the person who got fired just really sucked at her job?
 
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RoboFu said:
Wow ny dems resigning left and right because of corruption and Californias dem governor acting corruptly once again.
Yet they are the " moral " party. 🤷‍♂️
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That's what they say. But their hypocrisy has been on display for a while now. Glad to see some of them getting their comeuppance.
 
I always thought Newsom would make a good slimy sub-bad guy in a Bond movie. You know, not the main bad guy, but like the 2 or 3. The one that gets off'd like 1/2 way thru the movie.
 
Barakov said:
That's what they say. But their hypocrisy has been on display for a while now. Glad to see some of them getting their comeuppance.
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Yeah it's been clear for some time that Democrats are lying thieves and Republicans are morons. What a great time to be alive.
 
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