It seems that this year the world of video games is being quite moved in terms of acquisitions. A few weeks ago Microsoft announced the acquisition of Bethesda (through the acquisition of ZeniMax Media). Now Take-Two Interactive has just announced the interest in acquiring Codemasters for 740 million pounds, about 820 million euros. An operation that will be unanimously accepted by the Codemasters board of directors.
The company currently has the 2K Games, 2K Sports, and Rockstar Games divisions, among others. Acquiring Codemasters would bring them the GRID, DiRT, Project Cars, and F1 franchises, which are quite popular. While the deal has not been fully closed, the two parties appear to agree and it would be a matter of days to close the deal.
Take-Two about to buy Codemasters for £ 740 million
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. today confirmed the announcement made by the Codemasters Board that the Company has made a proposal to acquire the full issued share capital of the UK-based game publisher and developer, Codemasters, at a price of 485 pence (* approximately $ 6.40) per share (the “Possible Offer”), comprising 120 pence (* approximately $ 1.58) per share in cash and 365 pence (* approximately $ 4.82 ) per share payable in company shares. The Potential Offer remains conditional, among other things, upon the completion of confirmatory due diligence and the recommendation of the Board of Coders. Take-Two reserves the right to waive any of these requirements.
The Codemasters Council confirmed on October 14, 2020 to Take-Two and has confirmed today that, should Take-Two announce a firm intention to make an offer pursuant to Rule 2.7 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers of the United Kingdom (the “Code”) as set forth above, it is the current intention of the Codemasters Board to unanimously recommend that Codemasters shareholders accept the Possible Offer.
Take-Two believes that the combination of Take-Two and Codemasters would unite two world-class interactive entertainment portfolios, with a highly complementary fit between Take-Two’s 2K imprint and Codemasters in the racing genre. In addition, Take-Two believes it can benefit Codemasters performance by leveraging Take-Two’s global distribution network and 2K’s core operating experience in publishing, including live operations, analytics, product development, and marketing. brand and performance.
