Take-Two will approach EA before GTA's launch, says Pachter

Speaking here after the release of Take-Two's Q1 financials yesterday, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter has said he now expects the company's management to abandon its stance on negotiating on a buyout with EA before the release of GTA IV on April 29.

"We expect that in order to save face, Take-Two management will withdraw its demand that any discussions wait until after the launch of GTA IV, and we think that management will engage in discussions with EA," he said.

"We think that EA prefers to complete a friendly deal, and think that it is possible that Take-Two management can convince EA of the extent to which EA may have undervalued Take-Two shares, and believe that as a conciliatory gesture, EA management may be prepared to increase its likely $26 offer to somewhere close to $27."

Take-Two confirmed Bioshock 2 as in-development last night, but Pachter is convinced the game's now up for the company.

"As we look at Take-Two's line-up, we see GTA IV, and several games that look much like Take-Two games from past years," he said.

"We are fans of Midnight Club, but question the decision to delay the game's launch into the competitive Burnout and Need for Speed window as ill-advised. We also note that the Q4 2008 launch of Midnight Club will mark three and-a-half years between versions of the game, highlighting Take-Two’s failure to "sequelise" its key franchises on a regular basis."

Full thing through the link.