Activision Blizzard CEO under investigation by DOJ, SEC for alleged insider trading

Beijing time on April 1, people familiar with the matter said that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick (Bobby Kotick) is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for alleged involvement in insider trading.

Activision Blizzard CEO Kotick

U.S. regulators are investigating issues related to timely trading of Activision Blizzard securities. People familiar with the matter said,Kotick met at least one of the three traders days before they made big bets on Activision Blizzard stock.. U.S. regulators are investigating their meeting.

On January 14 this year, Alexander von Furstenberg, founder of the American investment firm Arrow Capital, media tycoons Barry Diller and David Geffen bought shares that can be sold at a price per share. $40 option to buy Activision Blizzard stock. Just a week before that, Kotick met von Furstenberg. The options deal, arranged days before Activision Blizzard agreed to be acquired by Microsoft for $95 a share, generated an unrealized profit of $59 million.

The Justice Department is investigating whether the options trades violated insider trading laws, people familiar with the matter said. The SEC is also conducting a separate civil insider trading investigation.

Diller previously said in an interview that neither of them had material non-public information about the Microsoft-Actvision Blizzard deal. He also confirmed that they had been contacted by regulators.

“We don’t know anything about acquisitions.It is easy for the outside world to mistakenly believe that we know the information in advance before making a transaction. Equally implausible is the fact that Kotick, the seasoned professional, would tell von Furstenberg and his wife about the upcoming deal at a social breakfast. Diller said in an email.

Von Furstenberg disclosed his breakfast meeting with Kotick when law enforcement interviewed him about the deal, people familiar with the matter said. Von Furstenberg and Geffen were yet to comment.

At this time, Kotick’s status in the investigation is unknown. He has not yet been interviewed by law enforcement, the people said. The Justice Department and the SEC declined to comment.