merger
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EA Goes Dark Over Take-Two Bid
8:20AM Kotaku US Edition | Like a corporate ninja, Electronic Arts has hurled a flash bomb and vanished into the shadows with Take-Two Interactive bundled under its cloak. Umm. Do Ninjas wear cloaks? Perhaps the metaphor breaks down a bit at that point. No matter – the point is that EA has entered into a confidentiality agreement with Take-Two and both parties are now obliged to keep their lips tightly zipped with regard to the companies ongoing discussions. Following the FTC’s announcement last week that they would not oppose any merger, EA decided not to renew the formal bid and has been having some cosy chats with its new friends at Take-Two. Cosy chats that from now on we will not be party to. Bah. EA: We Might Be Talking To Take-Two, We Might Not. But We’re Not Talking About It Publicly Anymore [Sillicon Alley Insider] More »
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FTC Will Not Oppose EA/Take Two Merger
8:20AM Kotaku US Edition | The Federal Trade Commission has posted closing letters to its site that show it has closed its Antitrust investigation into the Electronic Arts/Take Two merger. Upon further review of this matter, it now appears that no additional action by the Commission is warranted at this time. Accordingly, the investigation has been closed. So.. essentially EA are free to pursue their merger. Or would be, had they not let their bid expire on Monday. With the FTC investigation put to bed, though, EA are now able to enter into private negotiations with Take Two. Take Two is now to give EA its three-year financial forecasts and the game will continue… An EA merger with Take-Two gets U.S. antitrust OK [Reuters via GamePolitics] More »
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Activision Blizzard Merger Official
5:20AM Leigh Alexander | 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. More »
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