Gamertell

Videogame analysts have time and again clamored about a possible take over of Take Two. It seemed that Take Two chairman Strauss Zelnick’s denial of any such possibility had silenced all those analysts. But that is no longer the case, as Janco Partners’ analyst Mike Hickey has broken the brief silence over the issue with a prediction of a Take Two buyout.

He is hinting at a possible buyout with such conviction that it makes the take-over of Take Two appear inevitable. Hickey is convinced that any prospective acquirer will be easily impressed by Take Two’s various intellectual properties, which include Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, Midnight Club, Civilization, Bioshock, Bully, Read Dead Revolver, Manhunt and Carnival Games. To make a case for himself, he cited EA’s take-over of Bioware/Pandemic and the Activision/Blizzard merger as the best examples of buyers’ desiring IP value. But he went even further by imagining the possibility of a GTA massive multiplayer game, as the following excerpt from his recent investor note shows:

“Despite the company’s often clumsy sequential operating performance, the strength of their game portfolio could provide an acquirer a significant growth engine with several un-priced ancillary opportunities like a GTA massive multiplayer (MMO).”

The question is not only of buyers being willing to buy Take Two for its huge IP value, but also of the management’s willingness to sell. If such willingness exists, it hasn’t been made public yet.

Read [Game Daily] via [Kotaku]