Take-Two board rejects EA's 'inadequate' tender offer

After reviewing EA's recent and "unsolicited" tender offer to nab shares in the Grand Theft Auto publisher at $26 a piece, Take-Two's board of directors has deemed the maneuver "inadequate in multiple respects and contrary to the best interests of Take-Two's stockholders." The company heads imparted a similar sentiment two weeks ago when they asked stockholders to resist EA's offer while they reviewed it and formulated an official "hellz no."

The board continues to advise stockholders to hang on to their shares, claiming that the offer "substantially undervalues" the company and its "valuable franchises." Said Strauss Zelnick, chairman of the Take-Two board: "Our Board, after careful review, has unanimously determined that Electronic Arts' offer continues to provide insufficient value and remains opportunistically timed to capture the value of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV launch at the expense of our stockholders." He also expressed that the company will "review all available options" and remain focused on maximizing shareholder value.

To this end, the board has suggested investigating "alternatives" to the EA offer, "which may include a business combination of the Company with third parties or with EA, remaining independent, or other strategic or financial alternatives, that could deliver higher stockholder value than the EA Offer." Take-Two claims to have already prepared materials to facilitate "business combination transactions" with a number of other interested third parties, creating the impression that it would rather trade a hostile takeover for an auction.