criticizing the management's lack of seriousness in the matter. Even after CEO's Bobby Kotick's open letter to employees that said their initial response was improper and that they would be internally reviewing matters, employees still staged a walk-off to protest the lack of action the company had taken in regards to the lawsuit. DFEH's lawsuit brought a second lawsuit against the company by its shareholders asserting it falsified knowledge of these problems in their financial statements, though this suit was dismissed due to failure to meet thresholds for claims, and led the Security and Exchange Commission to begin evaluating the company. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had also filed suit against Activision-Blizzard from their own investigation of the workplace conditions but the company had settled the same day it was filed, which included setting aside an relief fund for affected employees. Kotick requested the board to reduce his pay to the bare minimum required by California law in August 2021 and withhold his bonuses until the lawsuit was resolved, after a bonus package he received in July 2021 following investors criticism on the size of the package. A Wall Street Journal report in November 2021 alleged that Kotick knew about misconduct and sexual harassment within the company without reporting them to the board of directors, leading to an increased pressure on Kotick to leave the company. The lawsuit became a debated matter in the industry as it touches on the Me Too movement and lack of unionization for video game developers to protect them from such mistreatment. On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced that it would be acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in an all-cash deal, or approximately $95 per share. Activision Blizzard's stock price jumped nearly 40% that day in pre-market trading. The deal would make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in the world and the largest headquartered in the Americas, behind Chinese company Tencent and the Japanese conglomerate Sony. Goldman Sachs will serve as the financial advisor to Microsoft, and Allen & Company will be Activision's financial advisors. Simpson Thacher will serve as legal advisor for Microsoft while Skadden will serve as legal advisor for Activision. The deal has been approved by both companies' board of directors and is expected to close in 2023 following international government regulatory review of the action. Upon completion of the deal, Activision Blizzard would be a sibling entity to Xbox Game