A few days ago, a rumor started circulating on the Web about CD Projekt RED possibly defending on a hostile takeover. According to Neogaf user boskee, who translated a document in Polish, CD Projekt called for an extraordinary meeting of shareholders scheduled for November 29th with the following items being discussed:
- 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
The third point, in particular, would put restrictions on the voting ability of shareholders owning 20% or more of the company's shares; this would only be lifted if the shareholders decide to buy all the remaining shares for a set price, ultimately exceeding 50% of the shares.
Of course, such news sparked lots of speculation among fans of the Polish developer and publisher, who created beloved games like The Witcher series and beloved services like the DRM-free GOG.
Pretty much everyone would dread if this beacon of independence in the gaming industry ever suffered from a hostile takeover by a huge corporation.
Luckily, you can all rest a little easier. We've reached out to CD Projekt for comment and they provided the following statement.
As for the rumor, it emerged after the Board suggested introducing a voting cap during the upcoming shareholder meeting. However, the proposal is not a reaction to any current events affecting CD PROJEKT. Rather, it is meant as insurance against future hypothetical scenarios which may never materialize.
We wish to safeguard the interests of minority shareholders in a hypothetical case where a major shareholder emerges professing a business and strategic vision which conflicts with ours.
There's no actual threat for the time being, then: it's just a precaution on hypothetical events. The developer remains focused on developing great games, starting with Gwent (which is now in closed beta; you can read our Gamescom preview here) and Cyberpunk 2077, which already has more manpower than The Witcher 3 ever did (and might even feature seamless multiplayer).
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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