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Microsoft has agreed to a $250 million settlement in a shareholder lawsuit tied to the Activision Blizzard takeover. The case centered on claims that the Call of Duty maker accepted a $95 per share offer too quickly and at too low a price.
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A long legal fight over the Microsoft purchase of Activision Blizzard now looks set to end. Reuters reported that shareholders reached a $250 million settlement in Delaware state court, closing claims over one of the largest gaming deals ever completed.
Microsoft paid $69 billion for Activision Blizzard when the deal closed, bringing Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo and King mobile games under the Xbox owner. The shareholder case argued that Activision should have held out for a better price.
Sjunde AP-Fonden, also known as AP7, claimed Bobby Kotick and other former Activision executives breached duties to investors by agreeing to the $95 per share takeover price. The fund alleged Kotick pushed the sale while Activision faced fallout from sexual misconduct reports and stood to protect a large payout from the deal.
Kotick denied the claims and filed counterclaims of his own. He argued that the AP7 lawsuit was partly “aimed to help pave the way for [Swedish game company] Embracer to increase its foothold in the California market at the expense of Activision.”
Embracer rejected that claim at the time, saying it was “humbled” by the allegation but did not need help from a Swedish pension fund to compete with Activision.
The settlement removes those counterclaims too. For Microsoft, the $250 million payment closes another loose end from a takeover that faced heavy regulatory resistance before completion.
The amount looks large in normal terms, but it equals only a small slice of the Activision price tag. Still, the case kept attention on the internal sale process, the role of Kotick, and whether shareholders received full value before Microsoft Gaming absorbed one of the most valuable publishers in the industry.
The settlement is worth $250 million.
Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden, also known as AP7, led the shareholder case.
The lawsuit claimed Activision accepted the Microsoft offer too quickly and at too low a price.
Microsoft agreed to buy Activision Blizzard in a deal widely reported at about $69 billion.
The settlement also resolves counterclaims filed by Microsoft and Bobby Kotick.