EA Extends Take-Two Offer Again to July 18; Total Tendered Shares Take A Dip
This story was written by Joseph Weisenthal.
Electronic Arts (NSDQ: ERTS) has extended its tender offer for Take-Two again, as the latest deadline passed yesterday. The extension goes for about another month, to July 18. The extension is not surprising. The most noteworthy bit: Take-Two shareholders have tendered a total of 6.13 million shares, which is actually a bit down from the 6.21 million shares tendered as of a month ago. So net for the last month, more shareholders took back their shares than tendered them. In the meantime, the FTC continues its pre-emptive anti-trust investigation. Expect yet another rejection from Take-Two and some vague comments about it kind of being in talks with other parties on some other deal. Release.
Also, Take-Two recently announced strong earnings, helped by the blockbuster launch of GTA IV. EA SVP Owen Mahoney acknowledged that in the release: "We congratulate Rockstar on the successful launch of GTA IV but believe our offer reflects a full and fair price based on the long-term value of Take-Two's entire operation."
By Joseph Weisenthal