SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced it has received
notice of an unsolicited mini-tender offer by TRC Capital Corporation to
purchase up to 2 million shares of Activision Blizzard common stock at a
price of $63.25 per share in cash. TRC Capital's offering price is 4.7
percent below the closing price per share of Activision Blizzard common
stock on January 5, 2018, the last trading day prior to the date of the
offer to purchase, and 10.1 percent below the closing price of
Activision Blizzard common stock on January 17, 2018, the last trading
day prior to the date of this news release. The offer is for
approximately 0.26 percent of the Activision Blizzard common shares
outstanding.
Activision Blizzard does not endorse TRC Capital's unsolicited
mini-tender offer and recommends that stockholders not tender their
shares in response to the offer because the offer is at a price below
the current market price for Activision Blizzard shares and is subject
to many conditions. Activision Blizzard is not associated in any way
with TRC Capital, its mini-tender offer or the offer documents.
TRC Capital has made many similar mini-tender offers for shares of other
companies. Mini-tender offers seek to acquire not more than 5 percent of
a company's outstanding shares, thereby avoiding many disclosure and
procedural requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) that apply to offers for more than 5 percent of a company's
outstanding shares. As a result, investors are not provided with the
same level of protections in mini-tender offers as are provided for
larger tender offers under U.S. securities laws.
The SEC has cautioned investors that some bidders making mini-tender
offers at below-market prices are "hoping that they will catch investors
off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current
market price." More on the SEC's guidance to investors on mini-tender
offers is available at:
https://www.sec.gov/reportspubs/investor-publications/investorpubsminitendhtm.html
Activision Blizzard urges investors to obtain current market quotations
for their shares, review the conditions to the offer, consult with their
broker or financial advisor and exercise caution with respect to TRC
Capital's offer. Activision Blizzard recommends that stockholders who
have not responded to TRC Capital's offer take no action. Stockholders
who have already tendered their shares may withdraw them at any time
prior to the expiration of the offer by following the procedures
described in TRC Capital's offering documents. The offer is currently
scheduled to expire at 12:01 a.m. New York City time on Wednesday,
February 7, 2018. TRC Capital may extend the offering period in its
discretion.
Activision Blizzard encourages brokers and dealers, as well as other
market participants, to review the SEC's letter regarding broker-dealer
mini-tender offer dissemination and disclosure at https://www.sec.gov/divisions/marketreg/minitenders/sia072401.htm.
Activision Blizzard requests that a copy of this press release be
included with all distributions of materials relating to TRC Capital's
mini-tender offer related to Activision Blizzard's shares of common
stock.
About Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., a member of the Fortune 500 and S&P 500, is
the world's most successful standalone interactive entertainment
company. We delight hundreds of millions of monthly active users around
the world through franchises including Activision's Call of Duty®,
Destiny and Skylanders®, Blizzard Entertainment's World
of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Hearthstone®, Diablo®,
StarCraft®, and Heroes of the Storm®, and King's Candy
Crush™, Pet Rescue™, Bubble Witch™ and Farm Heroes™.
The company is one of the Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For®."
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has
operations throughout the world, and its games are played in 196
countries. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products
can be found on the company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.
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Activision Blizzard, Inc.
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Source: Activision Blizzard, Inc.
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