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Analyst: Take-Two May Be Up For Grabs Again

You may remember the Take-Two/EA saga right around the time Grand Theft Auto IV arrived. Take-Two was a juicy piece of real estate at the time but the company opted to remain independent.

Now, however, they may be on the auction block once again. Take-Two might finally post a profit in a non-GTA year (their portfolio is increasing in size and quality), and it has been noted that investor Carl Icahn has been increasing his stake in the company; he has already used some power to make a few board changes. Also, CEO Ben Feder has left and according to Industry Gamers, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said an acquisition is possible-

"Reading between the lines, one might even argue that this management change is perhaps an early signal the company is getting closer to being taken out, especially given that the new COO Karl Slatoff's background is in strategic planning/business development."

He added that ATVI and ERTS might be interested and "Ubisoft could find TTWO an interesting partner" although the latter would be more like a merger. Combining Take-Two and Ubisoft would create quite the industry powerhouse; one would combine the likes of Grand Theft Auto, Bioshock and the 2K sports series with Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia, and others. But as the article hints, if Activision Blizzard has their sights set on Take-Two, well...

Yeah, we may not be interested in the result.

Tags: take-two interactive, 2k games, rockstar, ubisoft

11/2/2010 9:57:33 AM Ben Dutka

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Comments (32 posts)

to_far_apart
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:14:00 AM
Reply

Anyone would be fortunate to take these guys under their wing. Take Two is full of talent.

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Snaaaake
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:19:23 AM
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Wait, how can Take Two keep on being a takeover target?
Rockstar and 2K are the subsidiary of Take Two so shouldn't Take Two be a really huge company that would take massive tons of cash to buy?

Well anyway, if Activision Blizzard takes over Take Two then we'll get a new GTA every 6 months.

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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:23:18 AM

Of course it takes massive tons of cash. Massive tons of cash that other companies have.

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Snaaaake
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:26:31 AM

So we shouldn't be surprised if Activision Blizzard attempts a hostile takeover to EA?
Last edited by Snaaaake on 11/2/2010 10:26:44 AM

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to_far_apart
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:36:27 AM

Let the war commence

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nilos95
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:38:22 AM

Snaaaake, i think Activision Blizzard has enough money to buy any company of Take Two's scale. So, it is possible.

Think about it: CoD annual releases + WoW + many more = infinite source of money

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Snaaaake
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:51:09 AM

EA did attempted before and they never milked their franchise as much as Activision.
Guess I should have thought about it.

And there was this rumour about Microsoft wanted to buy EA before.

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laxpro2001
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:53:31 AM

@nilos
The only IPs that make Activision any considerable amount of money are COD and Guitar Hero. The reason why giant corporations have seemingly endless amounts of money is because since they are so giant and have so many assets ams such, they have high credit worthiness. They can literally get approved to borrow millions of dollars in less than a day. Thats why its so hard to compete with big companies... they have so much capital ready for the taking.

@Snaaake
With that said however, EA way too big of a company for Activision Blizzard to try and take over... Take Two isn't nearly as big of a company as you think they are. In relation to EA and Activision Blizzard they are about 1/4 the size. It's pretty likely that one of these companies could take them over.

Also companies don't take over other companies for the sake of doing so. There is a lot of strategic planning that goes into the process.

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Nynja
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:27:56 AM
Reply

I think the US Supreme Court should get involved if Activision Blizzard attempts to take over Take Two.

Smells like the Microsoft monopoly lawsuit all over again.

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Orvisman
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 12:37:34 PM

Under what premise? Antitrust? I don't think so. The U.S. Supreme Court would not have any cause to get involved with Activision buying Take2.

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ValdiPS3
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:39:05 AM
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well,is possible for Sony to buy Take-two?

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Deleted User
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:49:47 AM

@ValdiPS3: I was wondering that to. If sony did buy them would that mean the next Grand Theft Auto be exclusive again ?

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Orvisman
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 12:38:59 PM

As long as it isn't M$ft because we know M$ft has tons of cash to throw around.

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NoSmokingBandit
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 12:44:06 PM

I think if Sony makes a move MS might throw their big wads of cash around. Sony can never out-spend MS, and they never have. What Sony does is spend money smarter than MS. Instead of spending millions on DLC Sony will spend millions on buying a studio, a much better decision in the long run.

MS might realize they have jack for first-party support and tray to buy T2. I hope they dont because i rather like their games and i dont want a 360.

If Sony has the cash this would be one of the biggest things they could do to change the industry. But thats a ton of money and MS will always be able to spend more than Sony.

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Simcoe
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 2:38:31 PM

Wouldn't that almost be too many studios, would they have too much content thus hurting their own studios? (I know, shame on me for saying it's bad to have too much content.) I think they'd have to sell or close some Rockstar and 2K studios.

Though imagine what programming tricks Sony and their studios could teach Rockstar!

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Hezzron
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 10:58:39 AM
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I'm sure the big boys all start counting their available cash at the slightest hint of Take-Two possibly being on the market.

In the interest of quality, I like them as they are now.

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frylock25
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 11:30:39 AM
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this just sounds like the begining of a lot of bad news

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CH1N00K
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 11:44:35 AM
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They did this last time when GTAIV was getting ready to launch..Does this mean that we'll see a GTAV coming soon?

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laxpro2001
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 11:55:47 AM

Absolutely not. There is no correlation between these 2 events.

I could have been a jerk and made some sarcastic comment but I didn't, so I'm kind of proud of myself :)
Last edited by laxpro2001 on 11/2/2010 11:56:46 AM

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CH1N00K
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 5:14:52 PM

Don't kid yourself...you're still a jerk..

My comment wasn't so much sarcastic as dry humour..but tone of voice is something that is so often lost on the internet.

But that was real big of you to take the high road...
Last edited by CH1N00K on 11/2/2010 5:17:53 PM

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laxpro2001
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 9:34:21 PM

hence why in vague statements like that you can indicate somehow that you joking around. Since you didn't maybe you now realized how freaking stupid you sounded and are trying to cover up for it. Honestly, your comment wasn't the least bit funny mostly because it can easily be taken seriously due to the fact there is sometimes a serious lack of logic among gaming forums.

So DO FORGIVE ME for thinking of you to be one of those idiots without any sense of logic when it comes to this subject.

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DarthSayver21
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 12:46:32 PM
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Sony its your chance buy T2 and great games like GTA, RDR, and all those 2K games like Bioshock will become exclusive. imagine the possibilities of R*, and 2K developers not being hold back by the 360
.....wow what a sugar rush.
Last edited by DarthSayver21 on 11/2/2010 12:48:09 PM

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laxpro2001
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 3:35:17 PM

Except there is one problem. The fact that Take Two would want to remain doing multi-platform since they do it anyway as it means more money for them. I don't think that acquisition would be well received

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jaybiv
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 1:13:23 PM
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icahn is a greedy, selfish snake. he will push t2 into some sort of deal eventually. that`s his m.o. buy enough of a stake in a company to give him a voice. then all the othe greedy lemmings fall in line behind him calling for a deal. mergers and buyouts are not good for consumers. it limits competition and encourages larger companies to find ways to screw the customer. the icahns of the world do not believe in building shareholder value the traditional way. they want to maximize the portfolio overnight. this guy is kotick on anabolic steroids, crack and monster energy drinks. his strategies have ruined the lives of millions of people who were laid off because of his wheelings and dealings. the corporate world would be a better place without him.

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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 1:35:33 PM
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Well damn, if T2 goes on the market, you can be sure that it will be quickly purchased, but who will do so is the biggest question. I think it is best to simply wait for the end result before starting to get annoyed, or excited, by prospects.
Peace.

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WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 2:29:59 PM
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I don't think Sony will pay for exclusives even if it means buying a studio. Though it would be a massive coup. I wouldn't mind if EA got them, but Activision... no. I can't even imagine what horrors Kotex would create with those licenses.

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HighOnFire
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 3:06:49 PM

Keep Kotex away from my Bioshock!!

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frylock25
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 7:33:26 PM

may the dark carnival visit kotex in his bed if he even thinks of buying T2, if Bioshock got ruined from them i would be pissed.

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BikerSaint
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 3:49:08 PM
Reply

Frigging icahn strikes again.

He's not the finacial genius that he thinks he is....

Just look how he's screwed up Pinnacle's deal with the Sands Casino project in Atlantic City.
Instead of rebuilding a newer grander casino like he said he would after he imploded the Sands a few years ago, it's now a gigantic barren fugly dirt lot that icahn & his minions have walked away from. And they wound up putting all of the Sands properties in A.C. up for grabs.
"With no takers"!!!!!

Anyway, back to T2, I'd hate to see T2 taken in any hostile buyout.
But if they are, please oh please, don't let M$ or kotex & anti-vision get their dirty %$$^$%#&$& paws on it!

I'd be overjoyed to see Sony buy it, but would they have enough freed-up capitol to leverage a T2 buy-out? Just wondering....
Last edited by BikerSaint on 11/2/2010 3:52:05 PM

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FatherSun
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 4:58:53 PM
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SONY = EPIC GTA. ACTIVISON = GTA: 50.

This would draw quite a bit of attention, but GTA5 may already be in development as a multiplat. A TRUE PS3 exclsive would most likely have to wait till GTA6.

Wow! Such speculation.

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BikerSaint
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 @ 7:31:17 PM
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Will even if Sony was able to buy T2, Sony would still honor GTA 5 going multi=plat, due to T2's prior legal commitments. Sony's not like M$ trying to weasel everyone.

But for everything then on, or as of a buy-out....guess who becomes T2's only honoree.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 11/2/2010 7:34:28 PM

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___________
Wednesday, November 03, 2010 @ 4:17:47 AM
Reply

problem with 2K is they may release fantastic games, but my god do they take there time!
and for some reason they dont know how to use the debug function.
mafia 2 was freaking disgusting!
when your getting a average of 20FPS on a freaking 4 thousand dollar machine you know you have some serious problems!!!!!!

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