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Here fishy, fishy: EA proposal potentially seductive, Take-Two merger possible?

Posted Feb 25, 2008 at 07:25PM by Ceasar S. Listed in: News Tags: Blizzard, Electronic Arts, 2K Sports, 2K Games, Take-Two Interactive
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Here fishy, fishy: EA proposal potentially seductive, Take-Two merger possible? - Image 1


Even as we while away the shockwaves wrought by Electronic Arts, new developments continue to surface from the press waves. Located in the conspicuously named eatake2.com domain was an official electronic document with EA's name on it, which was designed as a companion to a conference call regarding the recently reported planned acquisition.

And the 17-page proposal, obviously published in light of Take-Two's refusals back in February 15 and 19, aims to enlighten third parties and, after reading the proposal thrice over, convince Take-Two's investors of the deal's advantages.

Take note that it isn't a formal proposal to acquire Take-Two, however, as the offer was set upon the table as far back as February 16. This document only wished to tell investors that:
  • EA and Take Two will be merged. Take Two's name will not disappear. Like Activision Blizzard, EA proposes a new title carrying both popular brands - EA Take 2 - thus perhaps the reason behind the new mock domain: eatake2.com (source link below).
  • EA and Take Two will be able to consolidate resources to further games of both companies. EA will gain special talents from Take-Two's exemplary developer teams at labels 2K Games and 2K Sports, while offering their vast resources and services to elevate Take-Two's own IPs to new heights. That would include distribution, advertising, marketing, developmental budget, and platform reach.
  • Though the superstar publisher will shoulder all of Take-Two's current stock options, the merger will prove financially advantageous in the long run - that is, of course, if they're willing to wait for the accretive non-GAAP gains at 2010.
  • Grand Theft Auto IV will remain relatively untouched, as EA is extremely positive that the highly-anticipated title is complete and already in the polishing stages of the development cycle.
  • EA will acquire both publisher and its underlying IPs and subsequent rights to publish them. So while there are fears surrounding the blatant smothering of brand names (i.e., Grand Theft Auto 2010, Manhunt 2009), it will also bring other hopeful IPs up to the next-generation development table. X-COM, a turn-based strategy franchise of cult-following proportions, is among those tucked away.
The document also outlined the direct financial advantage of the deal, which was the profit to gain from the merger. Officially, EA offered to buy all of Take-Two Interactive's shares at US$ 26 per share, totaling to approximately US$ 2.0 billion. That amount was initially packed with 60% premium over the shares' actual market worth.

But the recent revelations have spurred investors to hoard over Take-Two's stocks in efforts to gain from the possible merger. It's no surprise either, as anyone could point out to you that Take-Two's share worth was the cheapest way to partake in the merger dynamics (and thus, profit from it). As a result, Take-Two Interactive's stocks have risen 54.90% to 25.89 since its previous closing at 17.36.

EA may need to readjust their wallets to gain another financial leverage in the deal, because Take-Two is a good position given its recent stock performance this Monday. It's steadily wavering, however, signaling a certain uneasiness on the market as to whether the merger will actually pull through or not.

In other notes, Electronic Arts' stock remains marginally steady. More on the business side of games as we get them.

[Via eatake2.com] Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

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2 Comments


Sort by:
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   by UltimateIdiot911 - 2008-02-25
 » Let T2 be
Curse you EA. Hopefully GTAIV will keep T2 out of EA's grasp

   by mikekearn - 2008-02-26
 » Ugh
I am, as much as I hate to say it, but I am willing to admit that the merger *could* be a good thing for Take Two. But that's only a "could" and nothing more. I see it as far more likely that EA's pussified method of doing absolutely anything will stifle the creativity and brilliance that T2 has brought to gamers for years.

EA themselves have pointed out they have a lack of M-rated games, but it's not as though some mystical force precludes them from having any. They just don't have the stones to put up with the kind of unfortunate crap that such titles like the GTA franchise and Bully are apt to garnering. If they wanted to, EA could have had IPs like those whenever they chose.

Sadly for gamers, there is more than just our own whims for T2 to consider. It's a dog eat dog world in business, and this would mean more money and a better investment return for all investors of T2, which would in turn put pressure on them to sell. I'd hate to see it happen, but EA is a very big, and very rich company, and I do think it will occur whether we like it or not.



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