CD Projekt Red is preparing to defend itself against a hostile takeover, rumor suggests. A reddit user named “boskee” got wind of this news when a Polish newspaper began reporting the situation. Said Polish newspaper started their speculation when an “extraordinary” shareholder meeting was called by CD Projekt Red. According to the schedule, there are 3 points that will be covered.
- Vote on whether or not to allow the company to buy back part of its own shares for 250 million PLN ($64 million)
- Vote on whether to merge CD Projekt Brands (fully owned subsidiary that holds trademarks to the Witcher and Cyberpunk games) into the holding company
- Vote on the change of the company’s statute.
Reddit user “Boskee” provided some details as to why the first and third points are key to the hostile takeover speculation.
“Now, the 1st and 3rd point seem to be the most interesting, particularly the last one. The proposed change will put restrictions on the voting ability of shareholders who exceed 20% of the ownership in the company. It will only be lifted if said shareholder makes a call to buy all of the remaining shares for a set price and exceeds 50% of the total vote.”
Who can be trying to buy CD Projekt Red? Well, a lot of evidence is pointing to Vivendi, at the moment. However, EA has expressed interest in buying CD Projekt Red after the success of The Witcher 3. No matter the case, it’s unlikely that a takeover is going to happen. CD Projekt Red is cash rich right now and will definitely be able to buy back more than 51% of their own shares. We’ll find out what happens on November 29th when the general shareholders meeting takes place.
