EA extends Take-Two offer to June 16, Zelnick responds
EA has confirmed it is to extend its $25.74 per share tender offer to buy Take-Two to June 16, to which Take-Two's responded in the predictably nonchalant way, saying the offer undervalues the company.
EA had acquired only 8 percent of Take-Two's shares before its deal offer timed-out on Friday.
"This is the same highly conditional proposal that EA offered Take-Two stockholders on March 13, 2008, which our Board of Directors thoroughly reviewed and unanimously determined to be inadequate and contrary to the best interests of Take-Two's stockholders," said Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick.
"As such, the recommendation of our Board of Directors that stockholders not tender their shares to EA remains unchanged. The Board is committed to maximizing stockholder value and is exploring all strategic alternatives to do so. We said we were willing to begin formal discussions with interested parties on April 30, following the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, and we have in fact begun that process. We are confident in the significant growth potential of Take-Two and in the unique value of our business given our strong position in this growing and dynamic industry."
Press release after the link.
TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC. RESPONDS TO ELECTRONIC ARTS' EXTENSION OF TENDER OFFER
New York, NY— May 19, 2008 — Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) today responded to Electronic Arts Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ERTS) announcement that it is extending for a third time its unsolicited conditional tender offer to acquire all of Take-Two's outstanding shares.
As reported by EA, only 6,210,261 of Take-Two's outstanding shares, or approximately 8.0% of the total, tendered into EA's offer as of 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on May 16, 2008.
Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of the Board of Take-Two, commented, "This is the same highly conditional proposal that EA offered Take-Two stockholders on March 13, 2008, which our Board of Directors thoroughly reviewed and unanimously determined to be inadequate and contrary to the best interests of Take-Two's stockholders. As such, the recommendation of our Board of Directors that stockholders not tender their shares to EA remains unchanged. The Board is committed to maximizing stockholder value and is exploring all strategic alternatives to do so. We said we were willing to begin formal discussions with interested parties on April 30, following the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, and we have in fact begun that process. We are confident in the significant growth potential of Take-Two and in the unique value of our business given our strong position in this growing and dynamic industry."
Ben Feder, Take-Two's Chief Executive Officer, added, "EA's highly conditional offer fails to compensate our stockholders for our exceptional portfolio of intellectual property, world-class creative resources, and our successful revitalization initiatives. In the last several weeks, our strategy and Take-Two's value have been vividly demonstrated by two notable events. The record-breaking sales performance of Grand Theft Auto IV in its first week of release confirmed its status as the most successful video game launch of all time and as a blockbuster on par with any entertainment product ever released. We have also just announced an agreement with Universal Pictures to make BioShock, the universally acclaimed hit video game, into a feature film, demonstrating how Take-Two is delivering value from our powerful and wholly-owned intellectual property. The small number of shares tendered into EA's offer to date demonstrates that our stockholders agree with what our Board has maintained from the beginning: EA's proposal undervalues our Company." For more information, please visit www.taketwovalue.com.