Angry Robot

Kotaku on the EA – Take Two Shenanigans

Leigh Alexander of Sexy Videogameland is writing for Kotaku now and has an excellent article about what’s really happening with EA’s hostile takeover bid of Take Two, publisher of Grand Theft Auto IV, Bioshock and the 2K Sports series. The article is based on interviews with analysts who generally think Take Two should sell, since the $26 per share EA is offering is generous, and points out that Take Two chairman Strauss Zelnick has a lot of stock in his company that he wouldn’t get if the EA buyout went through, so perhaps his interests and his company’s aren’t entirely aligned. Deep in the comments, though, a Take Two employee points out that Zelnick’s specialty is preparing companies for sale, and so the board may simply think that the company will be worth more once their restructuring is complete in a couple years. We’ll know more tomorrow anyway, as shit is bound to go down at Take Two’s shareholder’s meeting.

We discussed the takeover on a recent Robot Sounds, but from the angle of what it means for gamers. If it goes through, seeing as EA is likely to kill 2K Sports, it’s hard to view it as a positive thing.