You can't take Take-Two, too
Have you been watching the coolest video game ever? One player chases a second one around, in hopes of making the second one its own. Unfortunately, the first player is running too slowly, and it's setting all the wrong traps.

If I haven't lost you, the first player is Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), which is taking its rebuffed $26-a-share buyout offer for the second player, Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO), to Take-Two shareholders.

Hostile takeovers happen all of the time, but this one is unlikely to get too far. At $26 a share, EA is offering less than 20 times Take-Two's upwardly revised annual profit guidance. Take-Two raised its outlook after beating expectations earlier this week, and it's also just weeks away from the release of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV. So why would it cash out -- at a price that's a steep discount to even EA's own earnings multiple -- when it's one of the few companies topping Wall Street estimates in this tricky environment, and with its franchise title swinging away in the on-deck circle?

I've heard of hostile takeover attempts. This one is more like a laughable takeover stab.

Quick hits
A few more of the market's stories, in brief:

  • You are not free to move around the country. Southwest (NYSE: LUV) grounded dozens of its planes after the low-cost carrier discovered inadequacies in its jet structural testing system. This is a rare black eye for the company that prides itself on posting consistent profits as its legacy carrier rivals struggle. Let's hope this is the last we hear of any troubles. If not, Southwest may be in the market for a new ticker symbol.
  • Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) finally closed on its $3.1 billion deal for display-advertising specialist DoubleClick. I guess regulators finally turned off their pop-up blockers. 
  • From Rio Grande to reel grande, IMAX (Nasdaq: IMAX) struck a sweet deal to build 35 of its gargantuan screens in Latin America and the Caribbean. Hasta la vista, baby.
  • Jones Soda (Nasdaq: JSDA) had a rough quarter during the holiday season as a year-over-year dip in gross sales was compounded by promotional costs to get its product onto more retailers' shelves. The report was almost as bad as the company's Green Bean Casserole Soda it put out a few holiday seasons ago. Almost.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

Electronic Arts is a Stock Advisor selection. IMAX and Jones Soda are Rule Breakers stock picks. Subscribe to either service, and take advantage of a 30-day money-back offer. How's that for an offer one can't refuse?

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look back. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story, save for Jones Soda. The Fool has a disclosure policy.