According to the Wall Street Journal, three wealthy businessmen, Barry Dillerco-founder of Fox, Alexander von Furstenberg and music mogul David Geffen, is subject to two separate federal investigations into suspected insider trading. They were going to buy a large amount of Activision Blizzard stock shortly before the Microsoft acquisition was announced, which naturally greatly increased its value.
In all, the trio had bought shares for a total of $108 million, just days before the deal was announced. Immediately after that, her value grew significantly to $168 million, with earnings of $60 million for the trio.
The timing and amount spent, as well as one of the three’s relationship with Activision Blizzard, raised more than a few doubts. As a result, the US Department of Justice opened an investigation into a violation of the Insider Trading Act, followed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which in turn launched a civil investigation into the same crime.
Of the three, the person most relevant to the case is Barry Diller, who served on the Coca-Cola Board of Directors alongside Bobby KotikCEO of Activision Blizzard, until the latter recently exited himself (which is also due to these investigations, as well as those related to the lack of oversight of sexual assault committed at Activision Blizzard?) The two weren’t just colleagues, as Diller Kotick described as an “old friend” .
Diller is also a close friend of Geffen and married to von Furstenberg’s mother. This should explain why the SEC and Department of Justice investigations are being launched.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Diller described buying the stock as a simple lucky bet and denied having any prior information. In short, it would be just a coincidence, he said. Instead, Alexander von Furstenberg stated that he bought the shares because he felt that sooner or later Activision Blizzard would be acquired.
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