Take Two Wants Independence, Still a Good Target for Acquisition

Take Two has long been rumored to be on the brink of being acquired by a larger company in the video gaming market ever since Electronic Arts tried to make a move on it just as Grand Theft Auto IV was being released, but one executive says that the publisher aims to remain independent, even though there is still interest from other companies.

Speaking to IndustryGamers, Karl Slatoff, who is the chief operations officer at Take Two, has stated, “I would agree with the analysts that you’re referring to, that our IP obviously makes us a very attractive investment for anybody, whether it’s a separate company or an individual investor, an institutional investor or a retail investor. I do think we have the best IP out there and we’re continuing to invest in it. And that’s our strategy.”

The COO has said that Take Two is aiming to continue investing in the development of AAA quality games while still launching fewer titles during one year than rivals like Activision Blizzard or Electronic Arts.

He added, “I think we’re a fantastic company as an independent company and we’ve shown our ability to thrive in that environment. But, like I said before, we’re a great investment for any kind of investor, in my opinion.”

Electronic Arts seemed to be pretty close to acquiring Take Two in early 2008 when it announced that it was willing to spend 2 billion dollars to acquire the stock it needed.

The Take Two board rejected the offer and the company then launched GTA IV, which proved to be a big hit, and asked EA to increase the price per share it was offering.

After the takeover collapsed, Take Two has pursued a strategy of creating new franchises, like Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire, that can bring in revenue during the years when no GTA launch is planned.