Whoa, I didn't even know SouthPeak Interactive swung that way, but apparently they've been Gamecock-hungry for quite some time and aren't too proud to pay for it. SouthPeak today announces that they have acquired wild-and-crazy Gamecock Media Group. 'Cock head Mike Wilson swells with excitement.

"We are thrilled to be joining forces with SouthPeak to continue to bring great original titles from independent developers to market with a stronger sales and distribution reach," said Mike Wilson, CEO of Gamecock. "We have followed each other's progress closely over the last two years, and combining our team with theirs results in a very strong and well-rounded force in the market."

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It had to happen - EA has extended the expiration date for its bid to acquire Take-Two, while the Federal Trade Commission continues its investigation. Although EA recently certified its compliance with the FTC's broad-ranging request for information, the publisher reached an agreement with the FTC through which it promises not to complete any acquisition until August 21.

In that fashion, the extension is merely a formality, to allow the bid to remain outstanding until the investigation concludes. The new bid deadline is now August 18, so it's safe to assume we'll see at least one more extension at that time, since any move EA makes would need to be after the 21st.

It looks like EA has made a bit of small gain, though, as far as the likelihood of bringing the acquisition to fruition:

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Activision has officially received shareholder approval for its merger with Vivendi. The company said over 92 percent of its shareholders greenlighted the merger, and the transaction is expected to officially close tomorrow.

The merger was first announced in December of 2007, but has just now been finalised. Through it, Blizzard and Sierra parent Vivendi becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision, scoring 295.3 new shares of Activision stock. It'll also buy 62.9 million new shares for a total of $US 1.7 billion - the result is that Vivendi owns a stake of about 52 percent in its new parent company.

Santa Monica-based Activision's new name will officially be Activision Blizzard, a moniker change also approved by the shareholders today, but it'll continue to trade on the NASDAQ under its same symbol, ATVI.

Full details after the jump.

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Electronic Arts has satisfied the Federal Trade Commission's extensive second request for information in the publisher's bid to acquire Take-Two, the company revealed through an SEC filing today - and, pursuant to EA's agreement with the FTC, it won't "consummate" any acquisition before August 21.

That is, unless the FTC finishes its investigation sooner. It's now got the information it needs from EA in its quest to determine possible antitrust issues, but Take-Two has appeared to struggle with fulfiling the broad-ranging request; when it was initially uncompliant, the District Court of Washington, D.C. had demanded it show cause, with Take-Two risking an injunction if it failed to pony up.

However, Tiffany Steckler of EA's corporate communications said that the August 21 timeline applies regardless of what Take-Two does:

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Take-Two has resolved its issues with the Federal Trade Commission, clearing at least one regulatory obstacle for Electronic Arts' acquisition bid, the company revealed in an FTC filing this morning.

The U.S. District Court of Washington D.C. had asked Take-Two to show why it wasn't complying with the FTC's broad-ranging information request as it investigates potential antitrust issues for the possible combination, probably regarding the companies' sports portfolios.

For its part, Take-Two had claimed that complying with the full scope of the FTC's requests would have been too expensive and labour-intensive, and asked for "reasonable limits".

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Don't believe what the timing tells you - EA's bid for Take-Two was never about Grand Theft Auto IV. That's what EA CEO John Riccitiello told an audience of investors during William Blair & Company's annual stock conference, where he was a speaker today.

"For clarity's sake, I think you've got a slight mis-remembering of what we said", Riccitiello told an audience member who asked about capitalizing on GTA IV's release value. "We were extremely explicit that there was no possibility whatsoever that we would be able to acquire the company or close the transaction prior to the release of GTA IV".

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Electronic Arts has announced this morning it has extended the deadline for its acquisition of Take-Two until July 18th, after the previous deadline expired at market close yesterday.

The publisher has not, however, raised its offer above $US 2 billion, or $US 25.74 per share, as the FTC's investigation process continues. Take-Two was recently asked to explain to the U.S. district court of Washington, D.C why it is refusing to fully comply with the commission's information request. Take-Two risks an injunction if it doesn't provide the full scope of info, which has been speculated to pertain to portions of its sports portfolio.

EA senior VP of corporate development Owen Mahoney congratulated Rockstar on Grand Theft Auto IV's successful launch, but maintained that despite the title's success, EA's offer "reflects a full and fair price based on the long-term value of Take-Two's entire operation".

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We know that, as we speak, the FTC is thoroughly investigating the possible takeover of Take-Two by Electronic Arts, to be sure that there are no antitrust issues. The FTC first made one request for information, and then a second one, indicating they're analysing the deal very closely.

EA cut a deal with the FTC by which it consented to a 15-day extension on the investigation period, making it 45 days, and in return the publisher agreed it wouldn't move to acquire Take-Two until the investigation was closed or until the 45 days expired.

Newsweek's Level Up legal affairs columnist, former FTC lawyer Justin Blankenship, wrote a new piece trying to pin down exactly what issues the FTC might be looking at. Though the specifics are not public record and not likely to be sussed out easily, Blankenship learned a few details - like where the FTC's greatest area of concern likely is, and whether Take-Two is risking a legal injunction to stonewall EA:

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Take-Two is discussing possible acquisitions with interested parties right now, Board chairman Strauss Zelnick said on the company's financial results call today.

"At the time of EA's highly conditional, unsolicited tender offer, we emphasised our board's commitment to explore all strategic alternatives, including remaining independent, and pursuing business combinations with third parties... we're actively engaged in that process now."

"In fact, we have had and continue to have formal discussions with a number of interested parties," Zelnick said.

Zelnick's comments follow numerous earlier statements he'd made that Take-Two would entertain talks with Electronic Arts following April 30th, but he declined to specify in detail who the other interested parties might be or what stage the discussions were at. When questioned by an analyst, Zelnick clarified that they were "discussions, not negotiations."

Electronic Arts may have recently extended the deadline for its bid to acquire Take-Two, but the company's shareholders don't seem ready to go quietly. EA's offer price remains at $US 25.74 per share, while as of today, Take-Two has seen share value just over the $US 27 mark.

A peek at recent SEC filings reveals another item of interest: When EA made its most recent deadline extension, its third, it stated that 6,210,261 shares of Take-Two stock had been tendered to EA as of May 16th. That's only a small percentage of what EA would need to acquire a majority - but its even less than they used to have.

At the time of the second extension, as of April 17th 6,432,787 shares had been tendered - which seems to suggest that 222,526 shares have gone back to Take-Two. Granted, those 222,526 shares are statistically tiny in the grand scheme of things, but even a small loss of stake seems an inauspicious sign for a company making a hostile bid.

On the other side of the coin:

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