Full FeedTake-Two says other companies have expressed interest
A SEC filing from Take-Two Interactive indicates Electronic Arts isn’t the only company putting offers on the table for the publishing house that owns the Grand Theft Auto and 2k Sports franchises.
The filing suggests that Take-Two occasionally gets word that other firms are interested in putting up a buyout bid and, since EA made their offer, there’s been no dearth of such interest. No company names or dollar amounts are provided. The filing included documents for an annual stockholder meeting to be held April 10, 2008.
EA’s bid for $26 a share (totaling $2 billion as a cash offer) for the company that closed at $26.50 in daily trading Friday (February 22, 2008) precedes the late-April ship date for GTA 4, the first for the series on new-gen hardware. Between GTA: San Andreas’ release in October 2004 and trading just after Christmas that year, Take-Two’s stock had jumped 12 percent.
EA would pick up a pile of great developers in the Take-Two buy, including 2K Boston (Bioshock) and Firaxis (Sid Mier’s Civilization IV), and wipe out its only competitor in big-name sports titles by taking over 2K Sports.
Whoever these unnamed suitors are, it’s hard to imagine a situation for Take-Two that wouldn’t just be stopping a Cold War for video games before it gets started between EA and the Vivendi-Activision merger. An investment firm would no doubt pare some of the less-profitable houses. Would the phrase “spiritual successor to System Shock” mean half as much to a couple of guys who might have been running a toilet paper company last week?
Read [GameDaily] Read [SEC Filing]
Keep up with the latest gaming goodness! - 
Subscribe to our feed
Black Friday 2009
Black Friday is almost here! Gadgetell's got you covered with all the latest news on who's offering the best deals. Dangerous crowds? You're on your own.
Important Importables
Jenni Lada brings us information about all of the groovy new gaming imports from around the world.
Hi Neil,
I have been following the entire takeover episode with keen interest and believe that this “other bidder” claim might be a Take-Two gambit to either ward off a takeover bid or lure EA to raise its bid. Otherwise Take-Two could have revealed the name of the other bidders and the price they are offering, especially when EA did so. Take-Two seems to be in a bit of a dither
on March 2, 2008 at 02:14 PM - LINKA very likely scenario. The only thing that seems sure is that management at Take-Two isn’t quite ready to let go of the firm at market value.
on March 3, 2008 at 02:47 PM - LINK