14 DAY TRIAL // 2008 was a year filled with quite a lot of transactions, takeovers, mergers and acquisitions in the whole entertainment industry. The gaming segment didn't escape this trend, and we've seen some very interesting moves on the market, as Tecmo merged with Koei, and Warner bought even more shares in Tomb Raider creator Eidos Interactive.
But one of the most important deals of 2008 in the gaming industry was Electronic Arts' offer to buy out Take Two Interactive. The large corporation was looking to take over the major IPs (Intellectual Properties) that the independent publisher held, like Grand Theft Auto or BioShock, but was turned down by Take Two, despite some very big offers.
This move has now been named by the top analysts who took part in the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference one of the worst deals of 2008. The fact that Electronic Arts offered to buy the shares of Take Two at the price of 25.75 dollars, which are now being priced at 8.43 dollars, was the second worst deal of last year.
Coming in at number one was Yahoo!'s similar decision to turn down an acquisition offer from software and entertainment giant Microsoft. Although the Redmond-based company offered to buy the shares at the price of 33 dollars, Yahoo! deemed the proposal unprofitable, and now has a 13 dollar price for its stocks.
Although Take Two has suffered severely from the financial recession, it seems that refusing the EA deal didn't have a big impact on its image, as it has announced that one of its most profitable studios, Rockstar, the company responsible for the Grand Theft Auto franchise, has extended its partnership with it, until 2012.
Let's just hope that the tough times are over for Take Two and that the big 2009 lineup of games, including BioShock 2 or Mafia 2, will make its stock prices go up again.