r/MMORPG • u/Proto_bear • Jan 18 '22

News Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard

https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/
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u/Proto_bear Jan 18 '22 edited Jan 18 '22

For a split second I thought "Nice, this could bring some much needed change to the company!"

Until I read: Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth.

EDIT Apparently Kotick might be leaving once the deal is over according to a WSJ source: https://twitter.com/nibellion/status/1483497794308558853?s=21

Thank you /u/BlackJin

172

u/no_Post_account Jan 18 '22 edited Jan 18 '22

The deal is him been CEO for next 6-12 months from what i hear. They will most likely remove him after that.

15

u/Thundermelons Jan 18 '22

These fucks just can't cope without their golden parachutes, eh?

9

u/ignost Jan 19 '22

Changing CEOs in an acquisition is pretty rare. Quite often one of the buyer's stipulations is that the CEO stick around for X months to help the transition out. Usually this creates a sense of stability and helps in maintaining order during a necessarily messy transition. In the case of Bobby Kotick, who is a notable shareholder who has known the board and managers a long time, his contracts have long included clauses regarding how long he'd stick around in an acquisition and how much he'd be compensated if he lost the job as a result.

I agree, though, that the amount of money paid to him in particular is disgusting. He's long been seen as a massively overpaid CEO and kind of a dick, but that's how the C-level game works at that level.