Activision sets its sights on Take Two

http://news.investors.com/technology-click/082914-715340-ttwo-subject-of-takeover-talk-by-atvi.htm

Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO), publisher of the popular "Grand Theft Auto" video game series, is trading near a six-year high Friday on a report that Activision Blizzard might make an acquisition offer.

Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey discussed "an emerging romance" between the two companies, which have similar goals, in a research note Friday. Take-Two and Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) are interested in forming movie studios to make feature films based on their game franchises.

"For Activision, acquiring Take-Two Interactive would be a no-brainer, in our view, circling some of the strongest development talent and owned IP in the world, within a company that has nearly $1 billion in cash and trades at a comparably lower multiple," Hickey said.

Take-Two admires Activision's "deep connections to Hollywood" and its capabilities in making massively multiplayer online games, such as "World of Warcraft" and "Diablo."

Take-Two was up more than 4% in afternoon trading in the stock market today, near 23.50 It had reached as high as 23.66 intraday. Take-Two stock hit a six-year high of 23.67 on July 28. Activision stock was flat.

Take-Two was last in play in 2008 when Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) offered to buy it for $26 a share in a deal worth $2 billion. Take-Two rejected the deal, saying it undervalued the company. EA made its initial offer in February 2008 and discontinued its pursuit of Take-Two in September 2008.

"With the acquisition of Take-Two Interactive, Activision would have arguably the three strongest development studios in the world with Rockstar Games, Bungie and Blizzard," Hickey said.

Take-Two's Rockstar Games is the studio behind the gritty crime saga "Grand Theft Auto."

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Ah shit. Time to panic

GTA is dead to me anyways. What else does Take Two make?

Well actually, Activision doesn't do anything, they are publishers, not devs.

Talk about the acquisition of a generation for Activision, having Bungie and Rockstar under one roof!?

@Boddicker said:

GTA is dead to me anyways. What else does Take Two make?

Again, publishers don't "make" games. but whatever. They also published Bioshock (including 2 and Infinite), Borderlands series, I'm sure there is another big franchise they publish but that's all that I know them from.

@parkurtommo said:

@Boddicker said:

GTA is dead to me anyways. What else does Take Two make?

Again, publishers don't "make" games. but whatever. They also published Bioshock (including 2 and Infinite), Borderlands series, I'm sure there is another big franchise they publish but that's all that I know them from.

Are you sure you're not getting them confused with 2K Games? I know, they have very similar names.

I've used it before, and Ill use it again.

@Boddicker said:

@parkurtommo said:

@Boddicker said:

GTA is dead to me anyways. What else does Take Two make?

Again, publishers don't "make" games. but whatever. They also published Bioshock (including 2 and Infinite), Borderlands series, I'm sure there is another big franchise they publish but that's all that I know them from.

Are you sure you're not getting them confused with 2K Games? I know, they have very similar names.

I dun goofed. :P

RIP GTA, NBA 2K, Civ, XCom and RDR

@Basinboy said:

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Man, I hope this happens.

H-O-L-Y SHIT!!!!!!!!

Take Two's subsidiaries include:

1) 2K Games

2) Firaxis

3) Rockstar Games

They'll be..........casualized until they're unrecognizable. I mean more than they already are.

@Boddicker: take two owns 2k games

God please no!

I was going to post this earlier, but I did not have enough time. This is very bad news if it happens. The gaming industry will be controlled by less companies and possibly less competition.

Please no, **** no.

There has to be anti-trust laws against this.

NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN

It's two publishers in a sea of hundreds. There is no threat of a monopoly forming if they merged.

Monopoly incoming!!!

Well that's not good...

You can't see this comment, I deleted it. You're staring at the background.

@Boddicker said:

H-O-L-Y SHIT!!!!!!!!

Take Two's subsidiaries include:

1) 2K Games

2) Firaxis

3) Rockstar Games

Oh wow Firaxis too?
Well whatever. If these people are so done with gaming that they sell it to Activision they wouldn't have made another good game anyway.

Take Two are garbage, but this would be horrible.

2K and Firaxis aren't garbage.

2K published the Bioshock series. Hell, 2K Marin dev'ed BS2 which I enjoyed more than BS1. They also publish the Borderlands games.

Firaxis is home to Sid Meier and the Civ and XCOM franchises. I fricking LOVE XCOM, though admittedly they did fumble the ball majorly with the last standalone expansion for it.

Please no.

I'm still holding hope for a Mafia 3 but I'd guess theres no chance in hell it would get released under activision.

Correct. I believe it's the same as trying to acquire Zenimax, who owns not only Bethesda, and therefore TES and Fallout, aswell as other studios and their subquent IPs, like Dishonored.

So,

Farwell quality. ... meet your new master quantity. You're gonna hate eachother.

@ConanTheStoner: Quato approved.

@clyde46: Microsoft should have bought Take-Two a long time ago. They should already own SEGA. If they ever want to secure fanchises for their XBox brand, they need to puchase at least one BIG names studio. This would suck is Activision acquires Take-Two.

@remiks00 said:

Ah shit. Time to panic

I love that gif!!

Yeah I've been all over this as TTWO (NASDAQ) is one of the stocks I follow and play with. From a gamers point I hope not. Yearly GTA would be the fall of the king.

Hhhmmm.. there aren't 100's of Big Name Publishers for games. Even when the PS2 was on the market there weren't hundreds. There are hundreds of developers. Maybe that's what you were thinking.

That would be disastrous if it happened.

I'm surprised this thread hasn't created more of a shitstorm.

This site must be filled with filthy casuals!!!!1!!!!

thank you annual cod buyers for making this possible u fukin pieces of shit

If it does happen, please Rockstar North employees leave and set up a new company...

This is good news, Activision can finally have studios working on those nearly 300 actually owned licenses they have.

Activision needed this to get back to what they were doing from when they were made till 2005, making and publishing tons of amazing games. I don't see how buying them out is some reason to panic when Take-Two's company policy is darn near identical.

Heck, Activision could possibly make a console.

Annual GTA games? hmm....

Nah, it's not the end of the world. Look at Blizzard. It merged with Activision and still made gems like Diablo 3, Pandar--

Oh shit.

With only two franchises that have ever really gotten run into the ground and one debatable, along with 30 Ips that were not run into the ground is not enough history to suggest Activision would make yealry GTA games.

You do know why they kept pushing out COD right? Not one thing they did since MW1 made enough money or was a flop. Including world acclaimed games. up to that point. When they started brnahcing off during COD success all those games flopped to. GTA would not have this issue, or any game in the studios take-two owns.

I'm not even saying that would be a bad thing if it happened. GTA games are good, high quality titles no doubt, but they don't re-invent the wheel or do anything particularly innovative with their GTA games, so it's kinda baffling why they take so long to make. I think Activision might actually help them get titles out the door faster, which wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

They're really falling behind companies like Ubisoft as it stands.

I couldn't care less about GTA, but 2K on the other hand, I do. On the bright side, maybe with Activision backing them, they can "persuade" the NFL to stop with the exclusivity nonsense.