Activision Blizzard has its annual meeting in just under a month, and between the company’s acquisition by Microsoft and the ongoing repercussions of its poor response to a toxic workplace culture, it sounds like there will be plenty to discuss. One group of investors, in particular, is making its opinions known ahead of time, by urging other shareholders not to re-elect the company’s board of directors.
Strategic Organizing Center Investment Group (SOC) has been vocal about Activision Blizzard in the past. Just last month, the organization released a letter encouraging shareholders to vote against the Microsoft acquisition, arguing that the deal mischaracterizes the value of the company, and it has previously called out both Activision and EA for what it sees as gross overpayment of the companies’ executives. The latest letter published by the group advises shareholders to vote against the reinstatement of top Activision Blizzard executives like Bobby Kotick, Brian Kelly, Robert Morgado, and more, according to Gamesindustry.biz.
The letter does not shy away from blistering invective in its summation of the situation. SOC accuses the directors of “multiple failures to act” before and after the revelations of Activision Blizzard’s workplace scandals came to light, and holds them responsible for “the resulting reputational harm and declining share price.” Even the removal and replacement of the current board of directors would only be the first step, though, as SOC sees it as “far from sufficient to restore shareholder confidence” in the company’s board. The Activision Blizzard annual meeting will take place on June 21.
