EA Extends Take-Two Offer, Take-Two Repeats Response [UPDATE] News
Chris Leyton
19/05/2008
With no agreement forthcoming EA announces the extention of its offer by another month...
Having watched the deadline for its amended offer pass without any further movements, EA today extended its offer to acquire Take-Two Interactive for the second time.
Setting a new deadline of June 16th, early reports hint that the offer of $25.74 per share is still on the table, despite EA recently securing an additional $1 billion of funding to facilitate an increased bid. It's believed that the extension will also allow the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to continue its review of the proposed deal.
Shares in Take-Two currently stand at $27.10 per share, suggesting there's considerable room for negotiations before an eventual agreement comes to light.
[UPDATE]
Responding to EA's decision, Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of the Board of Take-Two, commented, "This is the same highly conditional proposal that EA offered Take-Two stockholders on March 13, 2008, which our Board of Directors thoroughly reviewed and unanimously determined to be inadequate and contrary to the best interests of Take-Two's stockholders. As such, the recommendation of our Board of Directors that stockholders not tender their shares to EA remains unchanged. The Board is committed to maximizing stockholder value and is exploring all strategic alternatives to do so. We said we were willing to begin formal discussions with interested parties on April 30, following the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, and we have in fact begun that process. We are confident in the significant growth potential of Take-Two and in the unique value of our business given our strong position in this growing and dynamic industry."
Ben Feder, Take-Two's Chief Executive Officer, added, "EA's highly conditional offer fails to compensate our stockholders for our exceptional portfolio of intellectual property, world-class creative resources, and our successful revitalization initiatives. In the last several weeks, our strategy and Take-Two's value have been vividly demonstrated by two notable events. The record-breaking sales performance of Grand Theft Auto IV in its first week of release confirmed its status as the most successful video game launch of all time and as a blockbuster on par with any entertainment product ever released. We have also just announced an agreement with Universal Pictures to make BioShock, the universally acclaimed hit video game, into a feature film, demonstrating how Take-Two is delivering value from our powerful and wholly-owned intellectual property. The small number of shares tendered into EA's offer to date demonstrates that our stockholders agree with what our Board has maintained from the beginning: EA's proposal undervalues our Company."