EA proposes acquisition of Take-Two for $2 billion [update 1]
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Feb 24th 2008 at 2:45PM }
Not one to miss out on a gaming industry trend as hot as corporate synergy, Electronic Arts recently proposed an acquisition of Take-Two Interactive Software for $26 a share (nearly a 63 percent premium to their current stock value) -- for a grand total of approximately $2 billion.
Before you start feverishly fantasizing about a Bioshock/Crysis mash-up, you should know that Take-Two's executive chairman, Strauss Zelnick, shot down the proposal upon receiving it last Tuesday. Attempting to go over the bossman's head, EA CEO John Riccitiello made his proposal public, hoping that Take-Two shareholders will find the offer more attractive than Zelnick initially did.
EA intends to keep the proposal on the table to give Take-Two's board of directors "further time to consider it," obviously hoping to force Zelnick's hand. Whether or not this strategy will work, we imagine we'll find out in the next few days. We'll keep you updated as the situation develops.
Update: Take-Two's Board of Directors have considered the offer, and politely refused. Check out the full story for Zelnick's reasoning behind shooting down the proposal.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Neebs @ Feb 24th 2008 2:49PM
Lame.
Brian Fantana @ Feb 24th 2008 2:50PM
Who cares. Who else is EA not trying to buy?
Viridium @ Feb 24th 2008 2:51PM
Suck it, EA. Why not focus on the pubs/devs/studios you already have, get THEM in line, and then maybe you can look at some other acquisitions.
Not like you're going to go out of business anytime soon...
ApolloIV @ Feb 24th 2008 2:54PM
2k has rights to Bioshock right? And EA wants to buy 2k? Fuck.
Jim Halpert DM @ Feb 24th 2008 2:59PM
I could be wrong, but isn't 2k also responsible for the NBA 2k series and other 2k series. Please tell me I'm wrong.
ApolloIV @ Feb 24th 2008 3:03PM
Oh shit your right! Jesus 1 up for you sir. So does this mean there is no more sports competition?
Raikage (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 24th 2008 4:40PM
Amazing avatar dude.
Does this mean we will have GTA 2009,10,11,12...
Mr Khan @ Feb 24th 2008 4:46PM
That's right, the primary NFL and NBA competitor (ok, Sony has their NBA franchise, too)
dcrooks @ Feb 24th 2008 3:02PM
More info about it is here: http://www.eatake2.com/faq.htm
Arteen @ Feb 24th 2008 3:40PM
"Would you kill 2K Sports?
Any integration starts with our respect for the teams and people that make great games. Beyond that, it’s too early to discuss plans for managing Take-Two."
In other words... yes.
Huey2k2 @ Feb 24th 2008 4:06PM
See I don't think it would be in their best interests to kill 2k Sports. There is a huge following for 2k sports games and I'd imagine that a lot of those people who like 2k sports games don't read blogs like this and may never even realise that EA is buying them out.
If EA was smart they would keep the 2k sports games going with the same developers and just get ALL the money from sports games out there, create false competition, make the dumb consumer think they have a choice.
The Artist formally known as Jesus @ Feb 24th 2008 3:03PM
I predict that by 2010 all third party publishers/deveopers will either be owned by EA or Activlizzard
CJC @ Feb 24th 2008 3:10PM
Don't forget Ubisoft. They're growing and publishing at an surprising pace.
Ken Seang @ Feb 24th 2008 3:06PM
EA = Engulf All
Nigeria @ Feb 24th 2008 3:08PM
So it seems super-mergers are the current trend in the video game world?
What are they scared of?
Cal @ Feb 24th 2008 4:21PM
The other merging companies?
BigD145 @ Feb 24th 2008 4:23PM
They're scared of not being a monopoly. It's all about marketing, as seen at GDC.
Mr Khan @ Feb 24th 2008 4:49PM
Just a sign of advancement in the industry. Mom-and-Pop companies like SEGA and Nintendo are on the outs, and so you have either dynamic megacorporations like Sony and Microsoft, or publishers that have to bloat themselves to stay competitive
I know, the 2nd-highest-valued company in all of Japan is hardly "mom-and-pop," but it goes with the idea nicely. Nintendo's the gaming-specific industry dinosaur, after all.
Huey2k2 @ Feb 24th 2008 3:12PM
If there is a God in Heaven this will NOT happen.
Whatever happened to competition being a good thing? It seems like the way the game industry is going these days within 10 years there will be two or three giant developers that control EVERYTHING.
I do not like the way this is all going.
BigD145 @ Feb 24th 2008 4:24PM
There is no god, so I guess this will happen. ... Damn you religious folk. You've ruined yet another thing on this planet.
Batzarro @ Feb 24th 2008 3:18PM
Too big a morsel...even for EA.
JakubK666 @ Feb 24th 2008 3:29PM
KURWA MAC!!!
(A very, very nasty word in my language)
What the fuck are Kirk and Spock doing? Weren't they fucking supposed to exterminate Borgs?
gamedude420 @ Feb 24th 2008 3:45PM
that would be picard janeway and cisco (star trek next gen, voyager and deep space 9) the original trek and enterprise had no borg. borg wasnt introduced til next gen due to q......(im not a trekkie i was just a fan of he oiginal and liked next gen, and occasionally watched soem of th other treks. i know very little about star tek, but th borg was popular because it realy fired up the next gen series so they are prob as common to no treck fans as spock and kirk (i have a girlfriend lol)
chathampax @ Feb 24th 2008 3:41PM
Well guys, welcome to the world of merger mania. It is happening to all industries not just this one. The airline industry is going through the same thing; i.e. Delta/Northwest and Continental/United. I bought several hundred shares of Take-Two couple weeks ago for $16/share after the Viacom buyout rumor. I assumed that if even that didn't come to fruiation that someone else would offer a buyout. Even if no buyouts occured, GTA IV is coming out soon and that was going to drive the stock price way up. The reason EA wants to buy them now is it would be a lot cheaper now then after GTA IV comes out. I'm sure that is the main reason why Zelnick rejected the bid. This is also going to get other possible suitors into the game. Do I think the merger fever in the game industry is bad? Absolutely. However, that is the reality and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I would buy some Take-Two stock on Monday ASAP!
peacebyanymeans (AKA: Moorio) @ Feb 24th 2008 3:44PM
EA: OM NOM NOM.
Geoff900 @ Feb 24th 2008 3:48PM
Noooooooooooooo
please, anyone else but EA! MGS Sony anyone but not EA.
deaftly @ Feb 24th 2008 3:48PM
Well 1 bright side to this is that we could get another NFL licensed game from 2K.
Wiseguy @ Feb 24th 2008 3:50PM
We are Electronic Arts. You will be assimilated. Your technological and biological destinctiveness will be added to our own. Restistance is futile.
Lone Starr @ Feb 24th 2008 3:54PM
Didn't Riticello (or some other bigwig) at GDC just say that EA acquired too many other companies? A link would be cool if anyone remembers...
DCBlack @ Feb 24th 2008 3:58PM
As a baseball fan, this would probably mean the return of the MLB license to EA's MVP series, so that would be good for me.
Lewis @ Feb 24th 2008 4:05PM
I was just thinking the same. :)
J @ Feb 25th 2008 12:08AM
Take-Two owns Rockstar, right? Wasn't there an easter-egg in GTA:SA where cars you imported had a chance of having a license plate that said "EA SUCKS"?
Keiichi @ Feb 24th 2008 3:58PM
The only good thing about this would be that they'd annihilate Jack Thompson in any further legal shenanigans he attempts to initiate.
ChekhovsGun @ Feb 24th 2008 4:12PM
So, is EA preparing their one console future? Looks like they're gathering first-parties...
Brucie B @ Feb 24th 2008 4:12PM
Go Strauss Zelnick!
He is a Great Guy to work for!
Killer @ Feb 24th 2008 4:15PM
NOOOOO!!! Why don't we just blow up Take-Two. At least it would have a better effect on the industry than EA obsorbing them like a monopolistic sponge.
B1gg Randall @ Feb 24th 2008 6:25PM
No No No...Thats it....If this do happen the only 2k sports game that I love will be gone...(NBA 2K)And I will never never buy it again....Cause I know EA would never let it be better than NBA Live...DAMN U EA....
ThornedVenom (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 24th 2008 4:29PM
I have to admit that the internet is confusing:
which one's worse? EA or Activision?
Shmil @ Feb 24th 2008 5:46PM
EA because they make Madden
Aameeshah @ Feb 24th 2008 4:37PM
HELL NO EA! Mere 2 Billion for T2! For every thing from GTA, BioShock,2k Sports,Rockstar and so on! T2 and UbiSoft are my Fav Publishers and I love them just the way they are! They will become lame under EA and EA would just sit on thier lazy ASS repacking same old Madden, GTA, NFS, etc every year or even every 6 months!
Its awfull for the industry!
Eoco @ Feb 24th 2008 4:32PM
Is there anything EA won't buy? Take two wont sell, I don't think.
nick @ Feb 24th 2008 4:34PM
How funny, just a few months ago, Michael Pachter said that EA had no interest in Take Two... which only further cements in mind, that analysts have no better insight than anyone else.
That being said, I figured Take Two would be an acquistion target by someone (due to their rollercoaster financial situation), and EA is certainly a capabable suitor. EA would likely jettison most of the Take Two sports line though, but would gain the exclusive license for baseball. How very, convenient.
giantenemycrab @ Feb 24th 2008 4:55PM
NO!! PLEASE. NO.
Epsilon @ Feb 24th 2008 6:16PM
Can you say "monopoly?"
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Feb 24th 2008 9:01PM
dear god. i am really hating this new trend of blockbuster mergers. Monopolies are never good. look at Madden as a perfect example. EA has a monopoly on that and it sucks now cause if you want NFL football, that's your only option. if this goes through then i wouldnt be surprised if the same happens to every other sports game considering most prominent sports series are either from EA or Take 2. if this keeps up, i can also see exclusive titles taking a serious hit since these large 3rd party companies are going to want to maximize profits and cash in on every console.
pretty soon EA, Activision, and Ubisoft will own almost every 3rd party developer out there that matters.