It’s unclear what role Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will play once the deal with Microsoft closes.
In an interview with The New York Times, Kotick declined to say whether he would remain Activision’s chief executive after the deal, but told the paper that he would continue to be “on call as needed to ensure we have the best possible integration. “.
When the $68.7 billion acquisition was announced, it was revealed that Kotick would temporarily retain his role as CEO of Activision Blizzard while he and his team continued to drive “efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth.” However, others say that once the ink dries, Activision Blizzard’s business will report directly to former Xbox boss Phil Spencer, now CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Kotick probably won’t stay, but if he does, he won’t come back empty-handed either, because he’ll definitely have some kind of golden parachute.
As of last count, Kotick owned more than 4.3 million shares of Activision Blizzard, and if he were to sell some, he could be rich based on the current price at the time of the sale — not that he doesn’t yet. He is reported to be one of the highest paid CEOs in the US, with 2020 earnings of $154.61 million. The man is estimated to be worth about $7 billion. Therefore, even if he is ousted by the Microsoft-owned company, he will not go bankrupt.
Speaking of money, it is said that if he were fired by the board, there was “no reason” for his firing decision to leave Kotick with a check for $265.2 million. If a “reason” for the termination was found, such as his conviction by the board of directors for allegedly knowingly withholding information from a sexual harassment lawsuit, the check would be significantly reduced to $264,524, according to Fortune.
