Joystiq

The machinations of the corporate video game world have become a soap opera of unwelcome attention, would-be suitors, potential partnerships and, of course, undead vampires. While EA's restless pursuit of Take-Two continues (and continues and continues), the latter publisher isn't simply lapping up all the attention. No, Take-Two is on the lookout for potential partners, and have their "eyes open to anything to maximize stockholder value, including remaining independent."

Forbes puts the partnership pieces together, arriving at either Activision or Ubisoft. Considering Activision is sorta busy with its own mega-merger, that leaves little ol' Ubisoft. Of course, by "little" and "old" we really mean "big" and "rich" – the publisher apparently has a $1.2 billlion acquisition war chest which still won't get them close to the price Take-Two is holding out for.

So, perhaps a partnership (which we'll immediately begin calling Take-Twobisoft) if not an outright acquisition? There's plenty of delicious corporate synergy to go around, what with Take-Two's stable of strong IPs and Ubisoft's total lack of a sports division. Oh, and remember back when EA couldn't keep its eyes off of Ubisoft? It actually controls close to 25% of the voting shares in the French publisher, making any outside partnership increasingly sticky. The drama!