EA trying to swallow Take Two

[Babrbarossa]

Now that GTA 4 and Bioshock 2 are on the horizon, EA has decided it would be a great time to swallow the Take-Two- then fudge the final stages of development of these two games, then reap the huge profits that they are sure to rope. Then they will proceed to allow take two's legacy to crumble into oblivion. Then they will sit back and sigh with satisfaction at yet another major competitor munched.






EA approaches Take-Two shareholders in takeover bid

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Electronic Arts, clearly not taking “no” for an answer, has upped its efforts to acquire rival games company Take-Two Interactive, publisher of BioShock and the Grand Theft Auto series. With no headway made in negotiations with Take-Two management, EA is now going directly to the shareholders with intent to purchase all currently outstanding shares of common stock of TTWO.
EA is offering $26 cash per share, a figure that it has previously offered Take-Two management without success, with a total cash deal of $2 billion in the case of a complete buyout.
“This is a great opportunity for Take-Two shareholders. We believe Take-Two investors will see our tender offer as the best way to maximize the value of their investment in Take-Two. This tender offer provides a clear process to complete the proposed transaction,” declared EA CEO John Riccitiello.
EA states that the offer represents a 64 percent premium over Take-Two stock price on February 15, but now the $26 bid sits at around 4.4 percent above the current price. The tender offer is scheduled to expire April 11, 2008, unless the tender offer is extended. The release of Take-Two’s largest title of 2008, Grand Theft Auto 4, will be hitting stores two weeks after the close of EA’s offer.
Riccitiello added, “For EA shareholders, the combination would add additional intellectual properties to our already strong portfolio and welcome Take-Two's talented creative teams to the great development organization we've built at EA.”
Take-Two Interactive’s board of directors, intent on retaining control of the company, issued a notice to its shareholders shortly after EA’s bid, urging them not to accept.

“The Board of Directors of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. today recommended that Take-Two stockholders take no action at this time in response to the announcement by Electronic Arts Inc. that it has made an unsolicited conditional tender offer to acquire all of Take-Two's outstanding shares of common stock for $26 per share in cash,” read the release.

from DailyTech

[tzetsin]

i can honestly say that i really hope EA doesnt get their way in this. I'm tired of all these big names swallowing up the smaller guys, i mean, how often do you actually see a really great title get "better" after another company buys it out? Theres a reason that the most innovative games around were spawned by lesser/unknown companies. They have much more freedom to experiment with their ideas and arnt stuck with some dude watching over them going " oh no, that wont work... try this instead... no, i insist...." blah. But seriously. The guys that made the decision to aquire take 2 really dont care about the company, or their titles. All they see are profits that they can scam without doing any of the work. Think about it. whatever the cost to buy out take two, they stand to make CONSIDERABLY more with the profits of both those hit titles and their future expantions. And they never had to do any of the work. just sit back with their big piles of money waiting for the right time to buy more.

EA = Parasite.

[Keir]

Ok first yah EA's huge, its kind of annoying.

At the same time they are not going to kill a company when they buy it. This isn't like trying to kill the competition, there is always going to be competition, its owning all the competition that helps. There are a lot of companies owned by EA, distributed by EA, that make game just fine. ( Crytek was not always an EA brand, Valve uses EA as its publisher... )

And for every studio that EA buys pissed off employee's leave the company and start new ones. So it really isn't a big deal. You'll probably also see a lot of people from Take Two say bye bye and start up their own thing.
I'd rather not see EA buy every company out, at the same time if a company has a good idea but has no idea or realistic way to fund their project this may mean better games for them. So its not all lost.

Just because a company gets bought out by EA, may only mean that now EA publishes their game, its not like when its purchased they just move all of take two into some EA headquarters, or send over EA people to say that is wrong and do this. Developers Develop the game, unless it says Developed by EA, its not going to change. The one thing EA does do is turn it from a lax environment into a work environment, at the same time they are in the business of making money, not friends. Sure am glad I don't work for them though.

[Mr. Cipher]

What I don't get, is if the smaller firms know that great games take dedication and (insert every other verb imaginable here) to create, why do they make such crap?

[tzetsin]

I still think EA is a parasite. Forcing their way into the company just to suck up all the profits (which is pretty obvious that is the only reason for the aquisition considering their offer is only good till 2 weeks before shipping gta 4) An sure, every employee can quit and form a new company, but they still lose their rights to their most profitable titles, which is probly fine anyway considering gta, with 4 versions, is probly getting a little tired. and bioshock is great, but 2 iterations is prolly going to be enough. an their obviously creative enough to come up with a new flagship title in their new company... that is till EA comes along again and yanks the food from their mouth...at which point they can either give up or start again... but hey, thats the risk you run selling stock in your company right? It is... but i dont have to like it. and it still makes them parasites. but what can you do? nothing? yep. thats right. nothing. cause its legal, and it should be. but it still sucks. and i still dont like it. an i know i'll still play gta4 no matter what because i love that game...

f&^k Dont mind me... ive been working for over 24 hours now and i suppose i'm a little tired... sucks to be them i guess... and shame on you EA.