ACTIVISION BLIZZARD,INC. (NASDAQ:ATVI) Files An 8-K Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities

ACTIVISION BLIZZARD,INC. (NASDAQ:ATVI) Files An 8-K Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities
Item 2.05 Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities

In order to better capitalize on long-term growth opportunities, on February12, 2019 Activision Blizzard,Inc. (the “Company”) committed the Company to a Board-authorized restructuring plan under which the Company plans to refocus its resources on its largest opportunities and to remove unnecessary levels of complexity and duplication from certain parts of the business. More specifically, the Company intends to:

· reduce certain non-development and administrative-related costs across its business; and

· integrate its global and regional sales and “go-to-market,” partnerships, and sponsorships capabilities across the business, which the Company believes will enable it to provide better opportunities for talent, and greater expertise and scale on behalf of its business units.

The Company expects to incur aggregate pre-tax restructuring charges of approximately $150 million in 2019, related to severance, including, in many cases, above legally required amounts (approximately 65% of the aggregate charge), facilities costs (approximately 20% of the aggregate charge), and asset write-downs and other costs (approximately 15% of the aggregate charge). The Company expects the majority of these charges to be incurred in the first quarter of 2019, with most of the balance expected to be incurred in the remainder of 2019. The total pre-tax charge associated with the restructuring will be almost entirely in cash and the outlays are expected to be incurred throughout 2019.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: The statements contained in this Current Report on Form8-K that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements about the anticipated results of the restructuring plan and expectations regarding the amount and timing of anticipated pre-tax restructuring charges, and the assumptions upon which those statements are based. The Company generally uses words such as “expect,” “expects,” “plan,” “plans,” “intend,” “intends,” “intends as,” and other similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic risks, reflect management’s current expectations, estimates, and projections about the Company’s business, and are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. The Company cautions that a number of important factors could cause Activision Blizzard’s actual future results and other future circumstances to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements, including the Company’s ability to achieve the anticipated operational efficiencies and other benefits of the restructuring plan. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the factors identified in “Risk Factors” included in PartI,Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form10-K for the year ended December31, 2017. The forward-looking statements in this Current Report on Form8-K are based on information available to the Company at this time and it assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Although these forward-looking statements are believed to be true when made, they may ultimately prove to be incorrect.