Activision Blizzard facing hotter pressure in workplace probes - WSJ
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Regulators at the federal and state levels are widening probes into Activision Blizzard (ATVI
+0.1%) and how the videogame maker handled claims of workplace misconduct, the WSJ reports.
That includes subpoenas from California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing issued to company directors, and to police departments in the Los Angeles area for any records they have tied to a number of current and former employees - including CEO Bobby Kotick. (The company calls those an "extraordinary fishing expedition.")
The Securities and Exchange Commission has sent a new subpoena to the company as well - looking for records and communications from a much longer list of current and former executives than before, dating back to 2016.
Those moves appear to have come after Microsoft (MSFT
-0.9%) announced its $75 billion deal to acquire the company.
Activision Blizzard said in September that it had reached an $18 million settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to resolve that agency's probe. But that settlement hasn't yet gotten a judge's approval, and California's agency has looked to block it, saying it could ruin the state's case.
Meanwhile, on the Activision beat, a heavily publicized disclosure that Berkshire Hathaway added a stake in the company came before Berkshire knew about the then-upcoming buyout deal from Microsoft, Warren Buffett says.
That investment decision was "independent of me" and was made by Ted Weschler and Todd Combs, Buffett says.