(Bloomberg) -- Activision Blizzard Inc. shares tumbled Tuesday after a news report said the chief executive officer was aware for years of sexual misconduct claims at the company and that he has been accused of mistreatment by several women.
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The story by the Wall Street Journal details allegations of rape and says CEO Bobby Kotick had been informed and failed to report them to the board. The newspaper cites interviews, company emails and other internal documents. It reports on settlements, including in cases where Kotick himself is accused of mistreatment.
Activision’s stock has lost about a quarter of its value since a California government agency sued the company for sexual harassment and discrimination in July. U.S. securities regulators are investigating and have subpoenaed Kotick. The video game publisher’s stock fell as much as 5.2% Tuesday following the report, erasing earlier gains in intraday trading.
Read more: Misbehavior at Activision’s Blizzard studio
A spokeswoman for Activision told the Journal: “Kotick would not have been informed of every report of misconduct at every Activision Blizzard company, nor would he reasonably be expected to have been updated on all personnel issues.” The story also cited a statement from the board saying it had been “informed at all times with respect to the status of regulatory matters.”
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