EA extends deadline on Take-TwoOnly 8% of outstanding shares tendered so farMay 19, 2008, 07:03 PM ET
For the third time, Electronic Arts has extended its offer to
acquire Take-Two Interactive Software for $2 billion.
With the old offer having expired Friday night, EA said it has extended the deadline to June 16, acknowledging that it hasn't had much success in lining up shares. As of Friday, EA said that only 6.2 million shares had tendered into its offer, representing just 8% of the outstanding Take-Two shares, fewer than the amount tendered the first time EA extended its offer to buy the company. EA is currently offering $25.74 per share, though Take-Two shares closed Monday at $26.91 and have traded higher than $26 all month, indicating Wall Street's presumption that EA will eventually raise its bid. Buoying Take-Two's case is the fact that it has some hits on its hands, the biggest being the sometimes-controversial "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. The most recent in the series, "GTA IV," sold 6.2 million copies in its first week. Another winner, "BioShock," will be a Universal feature film in 2010 directed by Gore Verbinski. Take-Two is run by chairman Strauss Zelnick and CEO Ben Feder, both of who have been critical of what they say is a substandard offer from EA, though there are no other known bidders for the company. "The small number of shares tendered into EA's offer to date demonstrates that our stockholders agree with what our board has maintained from the beginning: EA's proposal undervalues our company," Feder said. EA extends deadline on Take-TwoOnly 8% of outstanding shares tendered so farMay 19, 2008, 07:03 PM ET
For the third time, Electronic Arts has extended its offer to acquire Take-Two Interactive Software for $2 billion.
With the old offer having expired Friday night, EA said it has extended the deadline to June 16, acknowledging that it hasn't had much success in lining up shares. As of Friday, EA said that only 6.2 million shares had tendered into its offer, representing just 8% of the outstanding Take-Two shares, fewer than the amount tendered the first time EA extended its offer to buy the company. EA is currently offering $25.74 per share, though Take-Two shares closed Monday at $26.91 and have traded higher than $26 all month, indicating Wall Street's presumption that EA will eventually raise its bid. Buoying Take-Two's case is the fact that it has some hits on its hands, the biggest being the sometimes-controversial "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. The most recent in the series, "GTA IV," sold 6.2 million copies in its first week. Another winner, "BioShock," will be a Universal feature film in 2010 directed by Gore Verbinski. Take-Two is run by chairman Strauss Zelnick and CEO Ben Feder, both of who have been critical of what they say is a substandard offer from EA, though there are no other known bidders for the company. "The small number of shares tendered into EA's offer to date demonstrates that our stockholders agree with what our board has maintained from the beginning: EA's proposal undervalues our company," Feder said.
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