In a record settlement for a derivative lawsuit, a Delaware Chancery Court judge on Wednesday granted final approval of a $275 million deal to resolve a challenge by shareholders of Activision Blizzard Inc. Vice Chancellor Travis Laster also opted not to follow the novel move made in another recent derivative settlement, where a Delaware judge allowed some of the money to go directly to shareholders. Here, Laster opted for the traditional route of giving the entire payment to Activision.
The case arose from Vivendi SA’s sale of a controlling stake in Activision back to the video game maker in 2013. At the same time, some Activision stock was bought by an investor group that included Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and co-chairman Brian Kelly. The suit accused them, Vivendi and other individuals of breaching their fiduciary duty to Activision by allowing the duo so much control as a result of the stock buy-back.
