Electronic Arts extends deadline to buy Take-Two

By Associated Press
July 21, 2008 | Comments (0)

Recs

0

Panic 2008... Profit 2009!

Fool -- Now's the time to invest! David and Tom Gardner's new book reveals their strategy for million dollar wealth.

Buy Now!

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. has again extended the deadline for its $2 billion tender offer to buy smaller rival Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.

The offer now is scheduled to end at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Aug. 18, an extension from this past Friday. EA said Monday it needed more time to allow regulators to continue their review.

EA previously announced that it was in "substantial compliance" with the Federal Trade Commission's request for information about its proposed buyout of Take-Two. Based on its agreement with the FTC, EA said in a regulatory filing it will not close any acquisition until at least Aug. 21 or the FTC closes the investigation _ whichever is earlier.

EA is trying to buy Take-Two, best known for the popular "Grand Theft Auto" series of games, for $25.74 per share, or about $2 billion. Take-Two has repeatedly rejected the offer as too low.

In a statement responding to the deadline extension, Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick urged Take-Two shareholders to resist the offer. CEO Ben Feder said strong sales of "Grand Theft Auto IV" and other developments "have further demonstrated that our value-creation potential is greater than EA's offer."

The latest deadline extension is the fifth. The first extension came after Take-Two moved back the date of its annual shareholder meeting by a week. Since then, EA has cited the regulatory review.

Shares of Electronic Arts fell 31 cents to $48.15 Monday, while Take-Two shares slipped 38 cents to $24.66.

Read/Post Comments (0) | Recommend This Article (0)

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Compare Brokers

DocumentId: 689222, ~/articles/articlehandler.aspx, 1/8/2009 2:13:20 AM

Sign up for FREE Motley Fool site access!

Already registered? Login Here

It’s FREE! Enter your email address, and we’ll rush you to the article you're looking for right now.

Privacy / Legal Information

We will use your email address only to keep you informed about updates to our web site and about other products and services that we think might interest you. The Motley Fool respects your privacy. Please read our Privacy Statement

Report This Comment

Use this area to report a comment that you believe is in violation of the community guidelines. Our team will review the entry and take any appropriate action.