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Game Forum / Action Games / Grand Theft Auto / March 2007GTA Publisher Take-Two Considering Sale Of Company
March 19, 2007 Breaking: Take-Two Considering Sale Of Company Breaking: Take-Two Considering Sale Of Company Major publisher and developer Take-Two (Grand Theft Auto series) has announced that it is considering a sale of the company, following a fierce shareholder battle which threatens to depose major executives and the board. A group of prominent Take-Two investors owning 46% of the company's shares, including OppenheimerFunds, D.E. Shaw Valence Portfolios, S.A.C. Capital Management and Tudor Investment, are looking to remove current CEO Paul Eibeler and bring about changes within the company's board of directors. Due to this, Take-Two has announced that it has postponed its annual meeting from March 23rd until March 29th "...to provide additional time to review the proposed actions of the shareholder group and also to evaluate alternative courses of actions that could potentially be presented to the shareholders." The main example of an alternative course of action is "a possible sale of the Company", though the official notice also notes: "There is no assurance that any specific alternative proposal will be forthcoming." Take-Two's recently restated financial results for fiscal 2006 saw revenue fall and the company record a net loss of $184.9 million. In addition, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter recently issued a statement to his firm's clients, calling Take Two's shares "overvalued" and the company's path ahead "troubling." Nonetheless, the announcement has sharply affected Take-Two's shares in pre-market trading, with the company's Nasdaq-traded shares up almost $1.50 to $22.26 thanks to news of the possible sale. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13186 If Take Two gets bought, I hope the buyer is either Microsoft or Ubisoft, not EA. > March 19, 2007 > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > If Take Two gets bought, I hope the buyer is either Microsoft or > Ubisoft, not EA. A sale to microsoft (they've got more money than god) would probably put another nail is Sony's coffin. Though, if its the direction of the company they are worried about, i doubt they'd sell to Microsoft or EA. >> March 19, 2007 >> [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > another nail is Sony's coffin. Though, if its the direction of the company > they are worried about, i doubt they'd sell to Microsoft or EA. It would be nice for Microsoft to buy it but since Microsoft is now focused on profit for their console/games division it's doubtful they'll open up the purse strings for such a major purchase. > It would be nice for Microsoft to buy it but since Microsoft is now focused > on profit for their console/games division it's doubtful they'll open up the > purse strings for such a major purchase. But if they purchase on the eve of GTA4, and GTA4 becomes a monster hit, than that's profit. If I were Microsoft, I'd buy Take 2 and use the GTA engine for other games, like a new Carmageddon. >> It would be nice for Microsoft to buy it but since Microsoft is now >> focused on profit for their console/games division it's doubtful they'll [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > If I were Microsoft, I'd buy Take 2 and use the GTA engine for other > games, like a new Carmageddon. The upside of getting Take 2 are the following: * GTA franchise * The Elder Scroll series * Myth series - I believe Take 2 owns the rights to Bungie's former series, and it would be great to take the series BACK. Not so much for the real-time strategy (RTS) as for the other potential of the series. RPGs, Massively Multi-player Online (MMO) gaming, etc. Myth would be great as an MMO. In addition you could do some really cool stuff with the Windows Vista PC and Xbox 360 interactivity. For RTS, the PC could be used by strategist OVERLORDS and then on X360 individual HERO units could appear controlled by the X360 players. The downside is as follows: * Cost - Take 2 won't be cheap to acquire and it will probably come along with quite a bit of debt. * GTA franchise - legislation and angry parents targeting Microsoft's business, which is more far reaching than just games. Consider the effect of a boycott on Microsoft Office product until the GTA franchise is censored or discontinued.. * Myth is a really cool series, but Bungie is firmly entrenched in Halo and probably can't afford to split focus. Still it would be nice to see some Bungie employees who are tired of the Halo grind returning to their roots with Myth. Maybe doing a spinoff division and bringing in some new talent to combine with old Bungie hands looking for a change. - James Take Two is very likely no longer (or ever was) for sale. The company is going to propose in their next meeting scheduled for tomorrow that the shareholders simply replace the entire board of directors and CEO and reduce the size of the board from nine to six, which was the idea all along. Analysts have determined that a sale of Take Two wouldn't make sense, because there is very likely not much interest. If somebody like Microsoft or Sony wanted to acquire the developer they could have done it over the summer when the stock was half its current price. It is just amazing to me that with the MLB exclusive 3rd party agreement, and GTA, this company could have been as badly mismanaged as it's been. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6168105.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=news top;title;11 > It is just amazing to me that with the MLB exclusive 3rd party > agreement, and GTA, this company could have been as badly mismanaged as > it's been. > > http://www.gamespot.com/news/6168105.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=news top;title;11 come on mate, the quality of the work force and the quality of management are 2 different things, even in relatively big companies. I thought everyone knew that?!? > come on mate, the quality of the work force and the quality of > management are 2 different things, even in relatively big companies. I > thought everyone knew that?!? I concur. I used to work at a badly managed hospital and read Dilbert often..... Cheers, Rob  Signature.__ __ |__ |__ .|__ __ | Rob White, Half Man Half Biscuit. | / \| \ | | || ||| /__\ | robthemod@googlemail.com | \__/|__/ |_|_|| |||__\___ | Wimbledon, London, England. "Do sugar cubes have dots or is that a dice I just put in my tea?" To the world you are somebody, but to somebody you are the world. >> come on mate, the quality of the work force and the quality of >> management are 2 different things, even in relatively big companies. I >> thought everyone knew that?!? > > I concur. I used to work at a badly managed hospital and read Dilbert > often..... Oh no, I agree with you there. I guess I didn't make my point properly. I was talking about the amount of money I thought they'd made off GTA, MLB and their other releases and the fact they're now in such bad financial shape. IMO it takes real stupidity by management (in this case, criminal stupidity, by their former CEO) to screw that up and put your company in the red for five consecutive quarters. Even if they weren't doing well, they're doing so badly financially right now another couple quarters like this and IMO Take Two's out of business. My point was that it's just amazing to me that somebody has managed to screw up a license to print money like the GTA franchise and actually get in the red. I think I could go find some HS kid who'd probably keep Take Two in the black for a quarter. I just really hope another 3rd party developer like EA doesn't buy Take Two and they can turn the company around soon. Because of GTA and MLB, you know EA has got to be licking their chops and waiting until just the right moment when the stock really plummets to make an offer. Doing that would accomplish their wildest dreams, get them GTA and also get the MLB exclusive deal back. And I work for a government agency...I've got a particular Dilbert about working for the government tacked to a wall of my cubicle...it describes the agency perfectly. |
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