While the dust and the fallout still haven’t settled when it comes toMicrosoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard, one thing is certain in that there were several people who have made and will continue to make quite a bit of money out of the deal. Certainly, people likeBobby Kotick is going to make some serious casheven if he leaves, but stockholders like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene are also going to make a pretty penny.
WhenMicrosoftannounced it had reached an agreement with Activision Blizzard to purchase the latter company one of the immediate fallouts was that the stock for the struggling maker ofCall of Dutybegan to rebound. It was in fact a continually dropping stock price due to one controversy or another that made theDiablo 3developer ripe for the picking by Microsoft. Once news broke of the acquisition the stock price started shooting up and the Georgia congresswoman was reportedly among those that took advantage.
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Business Insider reported that in total, Representative Taylor Greene sold as much as $15,000 worth of Activision Blizzard stock afterMicrosoft made the announcement. The Republican politician filed a disclosure report on Thursday that didn’t detail exactly how much money she made in the selloff but did report at least $200 in capital gains.
It’s important to note that there is no indication that violated any insider trading laws or the STOCK act by making these deals on the day thatActivision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft. Trading on the former’s stock was relatively heavy that day by most people involved in the market as the news of the merger made headlines for hours. Representative Taylor Greene is also reportedly known as one of the most active stock traders in congress. Her disclosure report showed similar transactions the next day.
It’s also possible that Representative Taylor Greene is not the one who made the decision to pull the trigger on the sale of Activision Blizzard stock. She’s previously said that she’s appointed someone who makes those kinds of decisions, and she’s not directly involved in any such trade.
The fallout from this sale - including the buying and selling of both companies' stock - is likely to continue for several more months at the very least. Earlier this week,House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadlermade it very clear that he felt the deal needed to be “closely scrutinized” for a number of reasons before it’s allowed to be finalized.
MORE:Xbox Needs to Address the Activision Blizzard Elephant in the Room Eventually
