Take-Two Interactive, the maker of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, is buying Zynga, the maker of the popular games FarmVille and Words With Friends, in a cash-and-stock deal said to be valued at around $12.7 billion.
The acquisition, which was announced at the start of the week, would combine Take-Two, a powerhouse in console gaming, with a mobile gaming company that has an almost cult-like following. Zynga shareholders were set to receive $3.50 in cash and $6.36 in shares of Take-Two common stock for each share of Zynga outstanding stock at closing.
The deal saw shares of French videogame maker Ubisoft Entertainment SA rise on Monday after Take-Two Interactive agreed to that deal to buy Zynga Inc. And, as Market Watch described the acquisition, the deal will now have the two companies linked, to create a much larger presence in the gaming industry. The deal should be finalized sometime between April and June of this year.
Take-Two called the deal "transformative" and bragged about its “extensive catalog of commercially and critically successful console and PC titles with engaged and loyal communities of players,” in a statement reported on by the Hollywood Reporter.
Strauss Zelnick, who currently serves as Take-Two's CEO and Chairman, said in that statement that the marriage, "significantly diversifies our business and establishes our leadership position in mobile, the fastest-growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry.”
While the deal still has at least two more months to go before it is possibly fully realized, some estimates see the final valuation dropping a bit when it's finally signed. As the Wall Street Journal reported, it is possible the final valuation could hover somewhere around $11 billion by the final negotiations later in spring.
