Take-Two to Go It Alone

After a festering, unsolicited takeover attempt by Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive has decided to foreswear any buyouts or mergers and remain independent.

Earlier this year, über game publisher Electronic Arts made an unsolicited bid to take over Take-Two Interactive…just before it’s massively anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV was due to launch. Take-Two maintained that the offer wasn’t high enough, and despite EA extending the deadline Take-Two investors could take its cash (again, and again), after six months—and long after the GTA IV launch—EA finally walked away from its takeover dreams. At the time, Take-Two said it was still considering its options, and didn’t rule out a merger or partnership with EA…under the right terms.

Well, now Take-Two is done considering its options, and the company has decided to remain independent. Take-Two’s executives and board feels the best way they can make money—and deliver value to their shareholders—is to keep doing what they’ve been doing: develop and publish games independently and build its portfolio of game titles and franchises.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

Take-Two says it has no debt and $140 million in credit it can tap into, and plans to expand over a dozen wholly-owned brands in addition to the monster Grand Theft Auto franchise and the up-and-coming BioShock, which is currently prepping a sequel and getting ready for the Hollywood movie treatment.