Take-Two to remain independent

Publisher reveals it has concluded its internal assessment of strategic options and will continue to go it alone; stock dives.

Take-Two's yearlong will they, won't they saga of remaining an independent company has come to a close today. After Electronic Arts walked away from buyout talks in mid-September, the publisher said today that its board of directors has wrapped up an ongoing internal strategic alternative assessment, concluding that Take-Two will not advance on any buyout or merger offers.

"Following detailed discussions with various interested parties over the last five months, Take-Two's Board of Directors has determined that it is in the best interests of stockholders to conclude its review of strategic alternatives and to continue operating and building Take-Two as an independent company," the publisher said in a statement.

"We are strongly positioned creatively, financially and competitively to benefit from the opportunities we see in the fastest growing segment of the entertainment industry," said Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick. "Our management and outstanding and talented employees have maintained an unwavering focus on our products and our business through this lengthy strategic review process and we are confident in our prospects. We remain focused on maximizing value for stockholders and are executing on our business strategies in a determined manner."

In addition to, and partially because of, a hostile buyout bid from EA, which was made public in February, Take-Two had previously said that it was entertaining offers and alliances from various unnamed parties. Industry analysts had speculated that both Ubisoft and Activision were potential suitors for Take-Two, the latter of which publicly stated the Grand Theft Auto publisher wouldn't have been a desirable buy.

Widespread economic turmoil has caused many gaming industry companies to see volatile fluctuations to their stock prices. Today was no exception for Take-Two. As of press time, shares in the company were off more than 6 percent from yesterday, trading at $14.94 per share. Following EA dropping its $25.74-per-share bid for Take-Two last month, the publisher's stock skidded nearly 28 percent in a single day.

66 Comments

  • PandaBear86

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 6:45 am PT

    Thank goodness Take Two resisted the monster EA. Who would want a new GTA every year, along with crappy expansion packs? GTA5 would be exactly like the Sims 2 in number of expansion packs.

  • thibbledorfP

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 3:01 am PT

    So EA gets the shareholders excited about the prospect of a profitable merger, then leaves. If you can't acquire em, destroy em, right? Take two makes some decent games, so good for em.

  • ocdog45

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 4:35 pm PT

    stay strong take two stay strong.

  • pongley

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 11:45 am PT

    Well the financial positives of a buyout from EA would've been marred by a massive downturn in sales as franchises would be obliterated (Mafia II for example) and people have boycotted EA in the past.

  • Senor_Kami

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 11:27 am PT

    "Hmm Take-Two stock it low now. A good time to buy into the future of this company."

    You should wait. Look at the past and you'll see their financials are HORRIBLE once GTA games have settled down. Wait a few more months and they'll return the usual back to back quarters of financial loss and the stock will be even lower than it is now.

    They make great games but they run a horrible business.

  • AtlanticRock

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 10:56 am PT

    Alright!!! Now we can get some more GTA IV DLCs. And Where's our TRUE Sequel to GTA III? (I want to see the return of Lance & Vic Vance's Vice City Cartel and Claude and Tommy Vercetti)

  • Phaje

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 10:41 am PT

    alright, score one against EA!

  • jadefury27

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 10:32 am PT

    every other stock took a hit so that's no surprise. They should be just fine.

  • Get_Shorty

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 10:19 am PT

    Hmm Take-Two stock it low now. A good time to buy into the future of this company.

  • neerajkumar_4

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 9:08 am PT

    good news take two rocks

  • CMakaCreative

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 7:43 am PT

    I wonder if this move is really good for TT. I have no clue how they're doing finacially. I just don't want to see them go bankrupt in a few years. They do make so fun games. Guess we'll have to wait & see. Good luck Take Two.

  • Serraph105

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 7:40 am PT

    we kinda knew this already but still its great news for the videogame community tat these guys didnt sell out because they are a creative company that goes the extra mile on its games and doesnt make them with just enough stuff to make it a great selling game

  • vaejas

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 6:28 am PT

    "Bbrrrraaaaaooooowwwwwwmmmmm... kuhh-kuhh-kuhhh..."

  • jhcho2

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 2:28 am PT

    ok my bad, you said 100 shares....not 100%. But then again, just as a reminder, people sell shares by lots. My bad my bad

  • jhcho2

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 2:26 am PT

    :
    Yuck_Too

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 1:44 am PT

    For all you die hard supporters of TT let me ask you this.

    Say you put your money where your mouth is...say you believed enough in TT to actually go out and buy 100 shares of their company in support of their efforts.

    If you did that you have absolutely every right to speak your mind, for you are the type of person that actually contributes to the bottom line of the companies everyone else merely talks about.

    However you would also be the one who just lost $1,400 based on some CEO's desire to gamble your money on making themselves more.

    Please tell me you are speaking figuratively. Where did you get the figure of $1400? It's not $14.94 for each 1% of the company's share you know...It's $14.94 for each share. 1 lot of share could be 1000 shares. And TakeTwo may have 10000 lots. If so, that is 10,000,000 shares. By letting EA lose out on the bid, you would have lost whatever you could have gained from the surge in price, that is (25.74-14.94)x10,000,000 = $108 million bucks! That's how much you lost if you had 100% of the company...not $1400!!

  • Jieman1

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 2:23 am PT

    Great news. Take Two FTW!

  • ObiKKa

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 12:20 am PT

    "We are strongly positioned creatively, financially and competitively to benefit from the opportunities we see in the fastest growing segment of the entertainment industry,"

    Yes, that's so right! Why did you ever waver from that fact in the past few months?

    Yes, it's so good for Take-Two to be continuing to perform as an 'independent' 3rd-party publisher, coz they make so g__rre0at games! Can I say Mafia 2?

  • JunoFallon

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 11:49 pm PT

    Congratulations to Take Two for beating the industry bully. It's about time someone stood up to EA. I hope this serves as a lesson that not everyone/thing can be bought EA. Jerks.

  • Viral-venom13

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 10:54 pm PT

    Well i guess this is good news for Take-Two and gamerz as we now know that they'll be continuing their chain of bringing out solid hit titles which is the improtant thing here!

  • barJerubsheol

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 10:48 pm PT

  • tawagivercetti

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 10:43 pm PT

    BEST NEWS FOR AGES, TAKE TWO GAMES FREAKING RULE
    LEAVE THEM BE ALL YOU INFERIOR CLONERS
    remember people this is a games site not a financial site take two will be fine, I care only for the games...

  • DarkGothic

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 10:10 pm PT

    Thank you God! GO TO THE HELL EA.

  • SEEDman_X

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 10:08 pm PT

    To Yuck_Too: there are many ways you can support a company, besides buying there stocks. As a consumer or even a mere spectator, of course I have to right to speak my mind.

    Stock holders make short-sighted decisions when they only care about turning over the stock for quick profit. In the long run, I am pretty sure that I care about TT more than many individual stock holders. If that's not the case, they won't be so eager of selling out to EA!!

  • maaly81

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 8:14 pm PT

    stay indy, and stay makin that NBA2k. you're going to make hand over fist come end of october.

  • valdarez

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 6:35 pm PT

    Thank goodness Take Two is still independent. GTAIV stays clean, BioShock, The Darkness, Bully, all these games have a second life, and, last but not least, the possibility for better sports game in 2K Sports remains alive.

  • GeigerdolylWodd

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 6:11 pm PT

    You know what Yuck Too? that's just it there is no such thing as a sure thing in the stock market. Everytime you invest your money in the stockmarket its a gamble. The only two questions are which games do you play? and are you cheating? Cause the only way you can win every single time is if you're cheating.
    No one's perfect and there's no such thing as a sure thing for you to suggest otherwise is highly suspect.


    Like you've got some insider tips or something. We all know what happened to Martha Stewart right? Do you ride it out or do you sell? Here's my thing I know its a business but truth be told I'm not interested in the business side of things. If the game is not fun its not fun I don't care who made it.

    I do care if a publisher shoves a company's product out the door prematurely by foot to save their own skin (Mercenaries 2? I'm looking at you, EA? I'm looking at you.) If they had to delay it fine delay it...

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 5:44 pm PT

    For all you die hard supporters of TT let me ask you this.

    Say you put your money where your mouth is...say you believed enough in TT to actually go out and buy 100 shares of their company in support of their efforts.

    If you did that you have absolutely every right to speak your mind, for you are the type of person that actually contributes to the bottom line of the companies everyone else merely talks about.

    However you would also be the one who just lost $1,400 based on some CEO's desire to gamble your money on making themselves more.

    And now, if you are that person how do you feel...F-That...hence the market share drop.

    Look at it from all sides if you truly want to understand.

  • bane546

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 5:24 pm PT

    i'm glad take two is walking tall. used to be a good thing when the EA label was on a game, but now, with only a few exceptions, I stay clear of their crappy excuses of games and if EA acquired take two it would only bring down the quality of those games as well.

  • xcaretplayapimp posted Oct 2, 2008 4:58 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    xcaretplayapimp

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 4:58 pm PT (hide)

    Too bad taketwo's not goin anywhere but down. Their really gonna regret not takin that offer when the bottom falls out.

  • Amir29

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 4:24 pm PT

    That's a boastful decision on the part of Take Two. I see the decision was truly made based on two realities. Either Take Two could not find anyone willing to merge with them or they are truly confident in their releases coming into the next fiscal year. I hope its the latter. Otherwise all of this praise we're giving them for remaining independent will disappear rapidly.

  • lathan94

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 3:19 pm PT

    Some people have obviously forgotten that not ALL EA games are crap. Battlefield and lately Warhammer has come out both very good gaming series.

  • SethSOMT

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 3:09 pm PT

    Meh, it is what it is.

  • PerfectDark0Fan

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 2:55 pm PT

    This is great news. EA has brought enough developers. What comes out of there studio is crap.

  • LostSoul1974

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 2:54 pm PT

    Ditto.....

    "JackBurton Posted Oct 2, 2008 4:15 pm PT Bad news for stock speculators; Good news for gamers"

  • gin_rummy89

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    TT shareholders must be pretty angry, i would be too.

  • GrimGravy

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 2:20 pm PT

    awesome hope they stay indie

  • JackBurton

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 2:15 pm PT

    Bad news for stock speculators; Good news for gamers

  • makemeweak

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 2:09 pm PT

    Guess they didn't have as many eager suitors as they wanted us to believe...

  • forbiddenimage

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 2:07 pm PT

    Best news I've heard all day

  • jsmoke03

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:58 pm PT

    ubisoft/midway/take two should merge...imagine that...

  • perfectdark87

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:53 pm PT

    I'm glad somebody finally stood up to EA. They own enough of the gaming industry as it is. They are becoming the Microsoft of publishers. It's kinda scary. All of my favorite old-school independent publishers are now assimilated into the EA juggernaut, save for a few rarities. It's good to see that the pride and driving fire of independent game development/publishing is still alive and well in the best companies out there. Kudos to Take-Two. Keep the good stuff coming!

  • Guzthon posted Oct 2, 2008 1:45 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Guzthon

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:45 pm PT (hide)

    Thank goodness the TT WON'T join EA for nothing! I wish TT good luck, 'cause they're gonna need it.
    EA looks like your empire fill FALL (little by little). Take that Peter "Dreamcast Killer, Sega Assassin" Moore!

  • darkride66

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:39 pm PT

    Yuck_Too said "LOL...internal assessment of strategic options and will continue to go it alone
    When no one else wants to buy what you got what else could you say...Corporate Suicide brought to you by arrogant and greedy CEO's...seems to be an epidemic of that going around."
    You'll get no argument from me on that one. I'm betting $26 dollars/share is looking pretty good right now in the rearview.

  • Tazzmission187

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:36 pm PT

    im glad take 2 said shove it to e.a. even though ea has a tiny portion of good games but gta with a ea banner? no thank you. now if bungie took gta we can have something fresh and new... just a idea

  • Jon_Wolfy

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:30 pm PT

    If EA had not made the offer and made this whole scene then the stocks wouldn't have dropped so much.

    Proof that EA ruins companies just by being mentioned in the same sentence.

  • Ranma_X_basic

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:27 pm PT

    Glad to hear take-Two will remain independent. they're better off that way since their sports games are fun to play. not to mention they've made money due to GTA4. Hopefully Alan wake will turn out just as good. Oh! and i hope they plan on making a next-Gen max payne game.

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:26 pm PT

    LOL...internal assessment of strategic options and will continue to go it alone

    When no one else wants to buy what you got what else could you say...Corporate Suicide brought to you by arrogant and greedy CEO's...seems to be an epidemic of that going around.

  • Next2play22

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:23 pm PT

    I just hope EA doesn't buy up the stock at this low price and take it over for half of what they were offering.

  • hunter8man

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:22 pm PT

    Finally, we are done with this EA/TT nonsense. Keep cranking out the great sports titles along with GTA and we'll keep buying.

  • Henninger

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:22 pm PT

    Good stay on ya own & continue 2 make good games 4 the consumer 2 enjoy.

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