Entertainment mogul Barry Diller strongly denied the idea that he, his stepson, and longtime pal and fellow mogul David Geffen engaged in insider trading in what he claims was was “a lucky bet” on Activision Blizzard call options reportedly now under investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Diller, Geffen and Diller’s stepson Alex von Furstenberg together made large bets on Activision stock shares just days before that videogame maker said it had agreed to be bought by Microsoft on Jan. 18, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday evening.
Activision shares and the value of those call options soared on public news of the deal.
Diller, who confirmed to The Journal that he had been contacted by regulators, in a statement to CNBC, said, “None of us had any knowledge from any person or any source or any anything about a potential acquisition of Activision by Microsoft. ”
“We acted simply on the belief that Activision was undervalued and therefore had the potential for going private or being acquired,” Diller said.
