Bono to elevate Take-Two?

What we heard: A week ago, Take-Two Interactive's share price spiked on rumors that the troubled publisher might be bought out. Though no potential suitors were named at the time, over the weekend, the Post ran a report claiming it had identified one.

The name of the company in question is becoming increasingly familiar to gamers. Under the headline "Bono Eyes Take-Two," the Sunday edition of the Post said Elevation Partners, the Silicon Valley venture-capital fund that includes the U2 lead singer and ex-EA president John Riccitiello on its board, was "rumored to be eyeing" a $1 billion bid for Take-Two. The article said that Elevation, which recently created its own superdeveloper by merging Pandemic Studios and Bioware, was "said to have teamed up with Pequot Capital, a hedge fund and venture-capital investor that owns a large chunk of Take-Two's shares."

"Why" are "there" so "many" quotes in "the" above "paragraph"? It's to display how the Post is, in its own words, reporting on a rumor. There hasn't been any official comment from Take-Two, which had not responded to inquiries as of press time. As for Elevation, a company spokesperson would say only that "we don't comment on rumors."

However, there are some precedents that give the rumor a bit of heft. First is the December 2004 rumor that had Elevation contemplating a bid for Eidos Interactive. At the time, it was the source of countless Bono-Lara Croft wisecracks. Months later, though, it was proven true when Elevation got into a bidding war with SCi Entertainment over Eidos. (SCi won.) The Post also points out that the company has taken over troubled companies before, negating the argument that the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sex-minigame scandal has made Take-Two too hot to handle.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that anything official has been announced.