Since it was announced, everyone has been watching Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, including Sony, gamers of all platforms, regulators, and more. However, while many have mainly focused on whether it would create a monopoly or how it would affect Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles, one company has sued the two parties involved in the acquisition for collusion. AP Sjunde This lawsuit was recently brought by Fonden, a company owned by the Swedish government that administers pensions for Swedish citizens. 

There are undoubtedly many issues with Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but this 205-page complaint, made public on November 10 and first reported by Bloomberg Law, focuses more on how the deal was reached and the conditions surrounding CEO Bobby Kotick in the wake of Activision Blizzard's numerous sexual misconduct scandals prior to the announcement. 

The Microsoft and Activision Blizzard agreement were allegedly "planned to exploit the struggling gaming giant's sexual harassment controversy and shield its CEO," according to Sjunde AP-Bloomberg Fonden's lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses the $69 billion price tag—the largest acquisition in gaming history—of being manipulated to permit an underpriced deal between the two and maintain Kotick's position, at least during the regulatory review. Each current and former member of the Activision Blizzard board of directors are named in the lawsuit. 

It asserts that Microsoft and Activision conspired to buy the significant gaming company "at a low price" and that the acquisition process was fraudulent. Activision's Joe Christinat and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer both provided remarks to Bloomberg Law on this lawsuit "For the shareholders, this is a fantastic arrangement. 98 percent of voters approved of us. To choose the best course of action for the staff, shareholders, and players, the board went through a careful procedure." The statement from Microsoft that "our proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard was negotiated properly and fairly" was succinct, sweet, and to the point. 

Both the outcome of this litigation and the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger is up in the air. These are undoubtedly significant claims, and they shouldn't be ignored while everyone considers the implications for businesses other than Microsoft. In order to put this transaction into perspective, it should be noted that, if it goes through, Microsoft will surpass Tencent and Sony to become the largest gaming firm located in the Americas and the third-largest gaming company overall.