SOC Investment Group Asks Activision Blizzard Shareholders to Reject Re-Election of 6 Directors - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 June 2022 / 2,309 Views
SOC Investment Group in an open letter to Activision Blizzard shareholders has asked them to reject the re-election of six directors, including CEO Bobby Kotick. The other directors include Brian Kelly, Robert Morgado, Robert Corti, Barry Meyer, and Peter Nolan.
"Each of these directors failed either to recognize that Activision Blizzard for years maintained unsafe workplaces exhibiting frequent and repeated sexual harassment, sexual assault, and gender discrimination, or to appropriately address the Company’s 'frat house' culture once it was publicly revealed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in its pending lawsuit, which was filed in July 2021," reads the open letter from SOC Investment Group.
"While shareholders await the assessment of the merger with Microsoft by anti-trust regulators, it is incumbent upon them to hold these current directors accountable for their multiple failures to act and the resulting reputational harm and declining share price.
"The SOC Investment Group works with pension funds sponsored by unions affiliated with the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of four unions representing more than four million members, to enhance long term shareholder value through active ownership. These funds have over $250 billion in assets under management and are also substantial Activision shareholders."
SOC Investment Group urges shareholders of #ActivisionBlizzard to vote against six directors who failed to address the company’s sexual harassment crisis. #CorpGov #EndSexualHarassment #ToneDeafAtTheTop
— SOC Investment Group (@SOCInvGrp) May 27, 2022
Read our letter here:https://t.co/qiT2zVDPT0 pic.twitter.com/uZivpdOlpA
Activision Blizzard shareholders in April of this year voted to approve Microsoft's acquisition of the gaming giant. More than 98 percent of the shares voted in favor of the acquisition at $95.00 per share.
"Today’s overwhelmingly supportive vote by our stockholders confirms our shared belief that, combined with Microsoft, we will be even better positioned to create great value for our players, even greater opportunities for our employees, and to continue our focus on becoming an inspiring example of a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive workplace," said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick at the time.
The deal isn't expected to close until Microsoft's next fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
