Bobby Kotick, the embattled former CEO of Activision Blizzard, is reportedly interested in buying TikTok.
Per The Wall Street Journal, U.S. buyers are circling the platform amid increased U.S. scrutiny surrounding its creator, the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, over its links to the Chinese government. In particular, ByteDance may have to sell off TikTok or risk being banned in the U.S. entirely.
That’s where Kotick would come in. According to The WSJ, the former gaming executive is one of several people considering buying TikTok. The outlet says he’s been pitching other business moguls, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, to form a group to purchase the video platform.
It’s unclear who else might be interested, but considering the price to buy TikTok is expected to be in the range of “hundreds of billions of dollars,” per The WSJ, Kotick would certainly need a variety of well-funded partners.
The news comes shortly after Kotick stepped down from his role as Activision Blizzard CEO in December amid Microsoft’s completed acquisition of the company. He had been CEO of Activision Blizzard (and, previously, Activision) since 1991, and during that time, was one of the most highly paid CEOs in the U.S.
The Microsoft deal also gave Kotick a lucrative exit from the company.
In 2021, Activision Blizzard was sued by the California government for allegedly fostering a toxic “frat boy” work culture in which women faced sexual harassment, groping, unequal pay and other forms of discrimination. Outlets like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg later corroborated the reports of the lawsuit.
However, California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) voluntarily withdrew its case and stated that “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations.” Further the CRD says there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Kotick, as reported by The New York Times.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether Kotick will be part of a group that buys TikTok.
Update 27/03/2024 10:23pm ET: This story has been updated to include the fact that the CRD has voluntarily withdrawn its case against Activision after finding no evidence of wrongdoing, as reported by The New York Times. Several references to reporting from outside sources surrounding Kotick’s time at Activision Blizzard have been removed from this article.
Image credit: Activision Blizzard
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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