A Letter from CEO Bobby Kotick Regarding Activision Blizzard’s Merger With Microsoft
September 01 2022 - 7:49AM
Business Wire
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) CEO Bobby Kotick today
sent the following letter to all employees.
September 1, 2022
Team,
I wanted to provide a brief update of our progress towards the
completion of our merger with Microsoft. As we said from the
outset, this is a long process. With the number of government
approvals required, we still believe the deal is most likely to
close in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending June of next year. We are
fortunate to have already received approvals from a couple of
countries, and the process with all of the regulators is generally
moving along as we expected.
This week we heard from the United Kingdom, where we have more
employees than anywhere except North America. We have entered the
second phase of our review there, and we will continue to fully
cooperate with the regulators there, and everywhere approvals are
required.
As our industry continues to see numerous companies investing
aggressively in gaming, including many of the world’s largest
technology and media companies, government regulators are taking
appropriate and deliberate steps to better understand our industry
and the growing competition from around the world.
Beginning in September, I am going to initiate town halls to
keep everyone informed of our continuing progress towards our
future as part of one of the world’s most admired companies.
We have a very exciting fall ahead of us with anticipation
building for our new games. Thank you all for working so hard to
continue to connect, engage, and entertain our players around the
world.
With appreciation,
Bobby
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained herein that are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements including, but not limited to
statements regarding the proposed transaction between Activision
Blizzard, Inc. and Microsoft Corp. (such transaction, “the proposed
transaction with Microsoft”), including any statements regarding
the expected timetable for completing the proposed transaction with
Microsoft, the ability to complete the proposed transaction with
Microsoft, and the expected benefits of the proposed transaction
with Microsoft. Activision Blizzard, Inc. generally uses words such
as “outlook,” “forecast,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “to
be,” “plan,” “aims,” “believes,” “may,” “might,” “expects,”
“intends,” “seeks,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” “future,”
“positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set
to,” “subject to,” “upcoming,” and the negative version of these
words and other similar words and expressions to help identify
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
predictions, projections and other statements about future events
that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a
result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could
cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not
limited to: the risk that the proposed transaction with Microsoft
may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may
adversely affect our business and the price of our common stock;
the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the
proposed transaction with Microsoft, including the receipt of
certain governmental and regulatory approvals; the occurrence of
any event, change, or other circumstance that could give rise to
the termination of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of
January 18, 2022, by and among Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, and
Anchorage Merger Sub Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft
(the “Microsoft Merger Agreement”); the effect of the announcement
or pendency of the proposed transaction with Microsoft on our
business relationships, operating results, and business generally;
risks that the proposed transaction with Microsoft disrupts our
current plans and operations and potential difficulties in employee
retention as a result of the proposed transaction with Microsoft;
risks related to diverting management’s attention from ongoing
business operations; the outcome of any legal proceedings that have
been or may be instituted against us related to the Microsoft
Merger Agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby; and
restrictions during the pendency of the proposed transaction with
Microsoft that may impact our ability to pursue certain business
opportunities or strategic transactions. The forward-looking
statements contained herein are based on information available to
Activision Blizzard, Inc. as of the date of this press release, and
we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Actual events or results may differ from those
expressed in forward-looking statements. As such, you should not
rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.
These statements are not guarantees of our future performance and
are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of
which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ
materially from current expectations.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220901005454/en/
Investors and Analysts: ir@activisionblizzard.com or Press:
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