Meet Bobby Kotick, the American Billionaire Who Plans to Acquire Tiktok

Bobby Kotick, an American business billionaire worth $7 billion, is reportedly interested in acquiring TikTok for hundreds of billions of dollars, according to sources.

The report also mentions Bobby Kotick’s recent appearance at a dinner during an Allen & Co. conference earlier this week.

During the dinner, Kotick raised the possibility of a collaborative effort to acquire TikTok among a gathering that included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Bobby Kotick has been a gaming industry pioneer for many years. From 1991 to 2023, he controlled Activision.

During his tenure, he was instrumental in the development of Activision Blizzard via a combination with Vivendi Games.

He stepped down after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in late 2023.

Bobby Kotick previously served on the boards of large corporations such as Coca-Cola and Yahoo!.

Kotick’s career began in 1983, when he co-founded Arktronics, a technology enterprise, with his dormmate Howard Marks.

The two developed software specifically for the Apple II platform. During his sophomore year, Kotick proposed Arktronics to Steve Wynn, who invested a hefty $300,000.

Steve Jobs, attracted by Arktronics’ software, recommended Kotick and Marks to drop out and focus on their firm, which Kotick did, leaving the University of Michigan to devote his whole attention to Arktronics.

In December 1990, Kotick and Brian Kelly bought a 25% share in Activision, then known as Mediagenic, which was close to bankruptcy.

He oversaw a complete turnaround, rebranding the firm as Activision and shifting its focus to video games.

Kotick became CEO of Activision in February 1991, and he oversaw the purchase of nine development teams before releasing the company’s first hit game in 1995.

Aside from his work at Activision Blizzard, Kotick is a non-executive director for The Coca-Cola Company and serves on the boards of several notable organizations, including the Center for Early Education and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

He previously served on the Yahoo! board from March 2003 to August 2008.

In 2019, Kotick’s remuneration at Activision Blizzard was $30.1 million, a little decrease from his $31 million package in 2018, which included salary, bonuses, perks, stocks, and options.

Notably, 85% of his 2018 remuneration came from stock and options.

He was the 21st highest-paid CEO in the United States that year, gaining notice for making 319 times more than the typical Activision Blizzard employee.

Bobby Kotick works under a contract with Activision Blizzard that was signed in November 2016 and entitles him to bonuses based on the company’s financial performance and mergers and acquisitions until 2021.

In February 2019, As You Sow, a non-profit group, named Bobby Kotick 45th among the top 100 most compensated CEOs in the United States.

A 180% increase in Activision Blizzard’s stock price since March 2016 triggered an incentive bonus required in Kotick’s 2016 contract, which was initially set at $200 million but was eventually reduced to $155 million due to public uproar.

In 2021, the Wall Street Journal exposed a culture of sexual harassment and discrimination within Activision Blizzard, with charges exposing Bobby Kotick’s awareness and potential mitigation of these issues.

This disclosure sparked employee protests and calls for Kotick’s dismissal.

Despite the turmoil, Bobby Kotick remained CEO until Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in early 2023.

Recent speculations suggest that he is interested in acquiring the social media company TikTok, which would represent yet another exciting chapter in his career.

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