Support NeoGAF

[InfiniteCombo]

Article link (might be paywalled):

U.S. Probes Meeting Between Activision CEO and Option Buyer https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-probes-meeting-between-activision-ceo-and-option-buyer-11648754313

Creating this thread on mobile, so apologies for the unorganized format. Anyway, here are select quotes from the article by the Wall Street Journal:

Authorities investigating timely trading in Activision Blizzard Inc. [US:ATVI] securities are looking at at least one meeting between the videogame firm’s chief executive and one of three traders days before they placed a large bet on Activision shares, according to people familiar with the matter.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick met with Alexander von Furstenberg in the week before Mr. von Furstenberg and media moguls Barry Diller and David Geffen bought options to purchase Activision shares at $40 each on Jan. 14. The options trade, which has generated an unrealized profit of about $59 million, was arranged days before Activision agreed to be acquired for $95 a share by Microsoft Corp., The Wall Street Journal has reported.

The Justice Department is investigating whether the options trade violated insider-trading laws, the people familiar with the matter said. The Securities and Exchange Commission is separately conducting a civil insider-trading investigation, the people said.

The meeting between Messrs. von Furstenberg and Kotick adds to the growing regulatory pressure on Activision and Mr. Kotick personally. The SEC is separately investigating Mr. Kotick and other Activision executives over how they handled workplace misconduct allegations, the Journal has reported, citing documents and people familiar with the investigation. That probe, along with an investigation led by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, has escalated since the Microsoft deal was announced. Activision has said it is cooperating with the SEC probe and has called a recent move by the California state agency to subpoena police records “an extraordinary fishing expedition.”

I'll update the thread to be more reader-friendly later, and provide my own thoughts. Regardless, thought this was newsworthy. Mods, feel free to lock the thread if it's not up to forum standards.

EDIT/UPDATE: Here is a non-paywalled source:

'Lucky' Activision stock purchase that led to $60M profit under investigation

All three investors have ties to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

www.pcgamer.com

(I originally linked to the Wall Street Journal since they were the ones that broke the story, and as you can see from the PC Gamer article, they have a writeup that credits the WSJ anyway)

 

[TransTrender]

White billionaires in suits rarely get nabbed, but here's me hoping!

 

[ManaByte]

MS buys Activision Blizzard

Bobby goes to prison

It’s a win/win

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Can we also investigate how Bobby Kotick landed a role in Moneyball across Brad Pitt? That feels like the greater crime here.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Can we also investigate how Bobby Kotick landed a role in Moneyball across Brad Pitt? That feels like the greater crime here.

Really!? Holy shit.

I haven't watched that movie yet, but will look out for a scumbag-looking dude across from Brad Pitt

 

[kingfey]

Lock that piece of shit. Fuck him, and his cronies.

 

[Max_Po]

Amm doesn't this mean he made MS overpay?...

Indirectly ....

 

[adamsapple]

MS buys Activision Blizzard

Bobby goes to prison

It’s a win/win

 

[SenjutsuSage]

Ohhhhh somebody going to prison. This administration ain't letting this slide at all.

 

[zeorhymer]

Bobby forgot to pay Uncle Sam before the sale.

 

[Mr Moose]

MS buys Activision Blizzard

Bobby goes to prison

It’s a win/win

And his 3 friends

Probably just get a slap on the wrist and a fine.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Only those in the legislative and executive branches can do that. Silly citizen.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Thread title seems a bit bullshit clickbaity. At least, it's not the WSJ article title, and it's not a phrase explicitly used in at least the bits of the article I can see (paywelled innit).

So my take is they're not investigating Kotick for insider trading. He didn't make a trade. They're looking at the meeting in the context of these other 3 dudes buying options, who are being investigated for inside trading. I don't know what if any kind of legal liability one would have for providing the inside info so my take could be way off, I ain't the SEC.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Thread title seems a bit bullshit clickbaity. At least, it's not the WSJ article title, and it's not a phrase explicitly used in at least the bits of the article I can see (paywelled innit).

So my take is they're not investigating Kotick for insider trading. He didn't make a trade. They're looking at the meeting in the context of these other 3 dudes buying options, who are being investigated for inside trading. I don't know what if any kind of legal liability one would have for providing the inside info so my take could be way off, I ain't the SEC.

Alright Mr. Smart Ass, how would YOU rephrase the thread title?

I'm not trying to be misleading or click-baity, that's not how I roll. I'm open to feedback from anyone on this forum, but you come across as a dick. Want to try again?

 

[Dick Jones]

Alright Mr. Smart Ass, how would YOU rephrase the thread title?

I'm not trying to be misleading or click-baity, that's not how I roll. I'm open to feedback from anyone on this forum, but you come across as a dick. Want to try again?

Kunt Kotick Kaught Insider Trading?

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Alright Mr. Smart Ass, how would YOU rephrase the thread title?

Great question. Well, the obvious answer is that you could have just reused the WSJ title, "U.S. Probes Meeting Between Activision CEO and Option Buyer." Or used the title from the other article linked in the first paragraph, "U.S. Probes Trade by Barry Diller, David Geffen Before Big Merger"

But you made sure to outright say it's a criminal investigation into Kotick instead, max out your reaction score, and have everybody dunk on ol' Bobby K. So is that in any way true? You're the one who's through the paywall judging by the article snippets you posted, so does the article say he's being investigated for insider trading or not?

It's not being a smartass to point out that your thread looks shady.

 

[LordBlodgett]

No matter what Kotick just comes of as kind of a slimy guy...why the heck was he meeting with this dude and giving him info anyways?

 

[NickFire]

Not trying to defend the dude, but why is someone leaking information about a DOJ investigation in this arena? And how much trust do we give people that risk whatever career they have doing that?

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Great question. Well, the obvious answer is that you could have just reused the WSJ title, "U.S. Probes Meeting Between Activision CEO and Option Buyer." Or used the title from the other article linked in the first paragraph, "U.S. Probes Trade by Barry Diller, David Geffen Before Big Merger"

But you made sure to outright say it's a criminal investigation into Kotick instead, max out your reaction score, and have everybody dunk on ol' Bobby K. So is that in any way true? You're the one who's through the paywall judging by the article snippets you posted, so does the article say he's being investigated for insider trading or not?

It's not being a smartass to point out that your thread looks shady.

Holy shit dude, you're now assigning motive to me based on a thread I posted. You have issues, dude, to get some help.

I don't give a shit about popularity, that's not why I'm on this forum. I created the thread because it was breaking news related to a well-known gaming executive, which is why I included his name in the thread title (instead of the more generic "Activision CEO" from the WSJ article.) There are also bits of the article that I quoted to give more context. (I can't wholesale paste an article here because I think it might be against the forum's rules.)

I've also linked to a non-paywalled article from PC Gamer. You can go read it for yourself.

Let me restate: I'm very open to constructive feedback. But if you're gonna "come at me" aggressively with accusations, projection, and other bullshit, you can respectfully... fuck off

EDIT: by the way, if you feel that strongly about it, report my thread for "bad faith title" or whatever you're crying about, and a Moderator can decide if it needs to be retitled. I think that should settle it.

 

[Tripolygon]

It's not being a smartass to point out that your thread looks shady.

The thread title is fine. He’s being investigated for possible insider trading.

 

[chromhound]

Poor Him lol

 

[Pegasus Actual]

No matter what Kotick just comes of as kind of a slimy guy...why the heck was he meeting with this dude and giving him info anyways?

What info did Kotick give? We don't know. They're investigating what went down at this meeting. David Geffen is a billionaire in his own right. Maybe he was interested in being part of an acquisition himself, found out or inferred from the meeting that an acquisition was imminent, and decided he had easy money if he bought options. That's speculation of course, I guess we'll see what the investigation finds.

 

[onesvenus]

How can insider trading be proved if none of them talks? I mean, i would think a meeting happening is not proof by itself, is it?

 

[M16]

thread title misleading and clickbait

 

[IFireflyl]

White billionaires in suits rarely get nabbed, but here's me hoping!

 

[Yoboman]

Be just needs to announce hes running for senate and he will be fine

 

[InfiniteCombo]

I've privately contacted the mod/admin team requesting a title change. So that we can, you know... get back to the discussion at hand.

 

[LordBlodgett]

What info did Kotick give? We don't know. They're investigating what went down at this meeting. David Geffen is a billionaire in his own right. Maybe he was interested in being part of an acquisition himself, found out or inferred from the meeting that an acquisition was imminent, and decided he had easy money if he bought options. That's speculation of course, I guess we'll see what the investigation finds.

You are correct. It could be that Kotick meets with this guy and then for no real reason at all other than the dude thinks Activision is in good hands he decides to put on large trades, oh and to tell his buddies to do the same. It is totally possible that nothing was shared, but it does come across as fishy, hence the investigation.

I still stand by my statement that Bobby Kotick seems like a slimy dude. Ignoring all the Kotaku work bullshit, this guy threatened to kill his assistant, lost a 275 million dollar lawsuit for how he tried to screw shareholders for his own gain, and also happens to be one of the 1500 people in Epstein's little black book. You can discount a lot of the shit written about him as normal business shenanigans, but he has some proven shady shit out there, and when all put together doesn't paint a very good picture

 

[AJUMP23]

WallStreetBets OG.

 

[LeftThumbstick]

Holy shit dude, you're now assigning motive to me based on a thread I posted. You have issues, dude, to get some help.

I don't give a shit about popularity, that's not why I'm on this forum. I created the thread because it was breaking news related to a well-known gaming executive, which is why I included his name in the thread title (instead of the more generic "Activision CEO" from the WSJ article.) There are also bits of the article that I quoted to give more context. (I can't wholesale paste an article here because I think it might be against the forum's rules.)

I've also linked to a non-paywalled article from PC Gamer. You can go read it for yourself.

Let me restate: I'm very open to constructive feedback. But if you're gonna "come at me" aggressively with accusations, projection, and other bullshit, you can respectfully... fuck off

EDIT: by the way, if you feel that strongly about it, report my thread for "bad faith title" or whatever you're crying about, and a Moderator can decide if it needs to be retitled. I think that should settle it.

You’re the one being aggressive at the slightest criticism, Jesus Christ.

Chill out.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Holy shit dude, you're now assigning motive to me based on a thread I posted. You have issues, dude, to get some help.

I don't give a shit about popularity, that's not why I'm on this forum. I created the thread because it was breaking news related to a well-known gaming executive, which is why I included his name in the thread title (instead of the more generic "Activision CEO" from the WSJ article.) There are also bits of the article that I quoted to give more context. (I can't wholesale paste an article here because I think it might be against the forum's rules.)

I've also linked to a non-paywalled article from PC Gamer. You can go read it for yourself.

Let me restate: I'm very open to constructive feedback. But if you're gonna "come at me" aggressively with accusations, projection, and other bullshit, you can respectfully... fuck off

EDIT: by the way, if you feel that strongly about it, report my thread for "bad faith title" or whatever you're crying about, and a Moderator can decide if it needs to be retitled. I think that should settle it.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

You’re the one being aggressive at the slightest criticism, Jesus Christ.

Chill out.

I'm actually having an awesome day. How are you doing?

It's simple. I don't like people coming at me.

Anyway, I would like to keep the thread in its main topic if that's ok.
.................................

I don't know how it works at the highest corporate levels, but for a peasant like me, insider trading is very serious. At the company I work for, they train us on it every year. We can't disclose ANY information that's not public, at all. No technical, financial, or other information. They drill it into you that the consequences of insider trading are very real.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Here's to hoping Bobby finally gets his long-overdue comeuppance.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

You are correct. It could be that Kotick meets with this guy and then for no real reason at all other than the dude thinks Activision is in good hands he decides to put on large trades, oh and to tell his buddies to do the same. It is totally possible that nothing was shared, but it does come across as fishy, hence the investigation.

I still stand by my statement that Bobby Kotick seems like a slimy dude. Ignoring all the Kotaku work bullshit, this guy threatened to kill his assistant, lost a 275 million dollar lawsuit for how he tried to screw shareholders for his own gain, and also happens to be one of the 1500 people in Epstein's little black book. You can discount a lot of the shit written about him as normal business shenanigans, but he has some proven shady shit out there, and when all put together doesn't paint a very good picture

And the bolded is why I have a problem with the thread title. There are no references here to Kotick improperly buying options. But it's the obvious conclusion you would get from reading the thread title.

And yeah Bobby seems pretty slimy. I don't have any big interest in defending him. I'm team Zampella all the way, I still carry that grudge from like 15 years ago.

Kotick's done some pretty shit things with Activision but you got to give him some credit. When he bought them up they were a nothing company. Not that much more than a name we were familiar from the Atari days. Not very different from dozens of other companies... but Bobby steered 'em into being one of the biggest publishers in modern times.

 

[Haggard]

the amount of greed necessary for someone who`s already sitting on a billion dollar fortune to risk jail for even more money he`ll never be able to spend is just unimaginable.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

Seems like a lot of billionaires were "lucky" to buy the stock a few weeks before the announcement.

... disgusting

WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. Probes Trade by Barry Diller, David Geffen Before Big Merger

Entertainment-industry titans Barry Diller and David Geffen made purchases days before the merger was announced.

www.wsj.com

Warren Buffett took $1B stake in Activision Blizzard before Microsoft deal

Famed investor Warren Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway, acquired shares of video game giant Activision Blizzard worth nearly $1 billion during the fourth quarter.

nypost.com

 

[SuperSaiyanWithDreads]

Great question. Well, the obvious answer is that you could have just reused the WSJ title, "U.S. Probes Meeting Between Activision CEO and Option Buyer." Or used the title from the other article linked in the first paragraph, "U.S. Probes Trade by Barry Diller, David Geffen Before Big Merger"

But you made sure to outright say it's a criminal investigation into Kotick instead, max out your reaction score, and have everybody dunk on ol' Bobby K. So is that in any way true? You're the one who's through the paywall judging by the article snippets you posted, so does the article say he's being investigated for insider trading or not?

It's not being a smartass to point out that your thread looks shady.

Dang u just destroyed him u got him all in his feelings

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Seems like a lot of billionaires were "lucky" to buy the stock a few weeks before the announcement.

... disgusting

WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. Probes Trade by Barry Diller, David Geffen Before Big Merger

Entertainment-industry titans Barry Diller and David Geffen made purchases days before the merger was announced.

www.wsj.com

Warren Buffett took $1B stake in Activision Blizzard before Microsoft deal

Famed investor Warren Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway, acquired shares of video game giant Activision Blizzard worth nearly $1 billion during the fourth quarter.

nypost.com

Yeah, I wonder how long this investigation will take; these sorts of government investigations usually take a while.

 

[Oddvintagechap]