No Take-Two Interactive for you EA!!(sigh of relief)

[Ippiki Okami]

Thank god!!...rejoice people!

Article:

After taking a good peak inside the kimono of Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts has decided to turn its back on its six-month effort to buy the publisher of “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

EA said in a statement that it had high regard of Take-Two but after reviewing Take-Two’s management presentation on its future plans and other due diligence materials, it decided not to acquire Take-Two. EA had previously offered $2 billion to buy Take-Two.

Take-Two said in a statement that it remains actively engaged in other discussions about its strategic alternatives. Take-Two, which has sold more than 10 million copies of GTA IV, said that its business has expanded during the takeover battle.

This deal was mainly about coming to terms on the value of the GTA franchise and Take-Two’s upcoming games. Take-Two has outperformed analyst expectations, but GTA IV has not exceeded the wildest expectations for sales. That is probably why the pair couldn’t agree on price. Take-Two has always wanted a significant premium on its stock, while EA didn’t want to over-pay.

Now EA’s strategy of the past 18 months is going to get its test. The company has launched “Spore” and has a total of 15 new games coming in the next six months. If those games are hits, John Riccitiello, chief executive of EA, will look like a hero. Take-Two, meanwhile, has to start launching games that show it’s more than a one-trick pony.

[Psx0005]

Originally Posted by MEXI_FES

Thank god!!...rejoice people!

Article:

Dunno if rejoicing would be what I'm doing. With the founding Houser brothers (Sam and Dan) leaving Take-Two's Rockstar and Grand Theft Auto 4 not turning out to be the overhyped seller they set it out to be, EA pulled out only because a lot of the incentives for the takeover/merger were either not there or were not going to be there by time all was said and done.

[mikejet]

10 million copies not exceeding expectations? That's sad.

[Elandyll]

Now what we -don't- want is MS to jump in with a bag of cash.
They seem to have been in a "let's get rid of the 1st party studios" mode recently though...

[Terjyn]

Microsoft would have to offer significantly more than they wanted from EA, because Microsoft would immediately force a quartering (or worse) of all profits on all Take-Two products, something EA would not have done, unless they decided to let Take-Two continue to release for DS, Wii, PS2, PS3, and PSP.

*EDIT* Hmm. I guess this actually depends on if it's a flat buyout or more of an absorption. Realized I didn't know which EA was trying to do.

[bajor27]

I'm sorry but I honestly just loved seeing Take Two stuck plummet after EA withdrew their offer. Down far below what EA was offering them for it. Stockholders missed a great opportunity to make some money on that deal.

As for the whole situation, I couldn't care less if EA buys them or not but I really feel EAs business strategy has changed recently. They seem to be putting a lot of money behind establishing some new IPs, and I'm really excited about some of them. Their sports titles also seem to be pretty great this year, and I know the NFS team is really working hard at making Undercover great too.

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by Elandyll

Now what we -don't- want is MS to jump in with a bag of cash.
They seem to have been in a "let's get rid of the 1st party studios" mode recently though...

I don't their shareholders would look too well on that division getting another $2B of red ink. Max said the division is already in hot water as it is.