Brotaku

Take-Two Interactive has announced that it has agreed to acquire Zynga for $9.861 per share, $3.50 of which will be paid in cash and $6.361 in shares of Take-Two common stock. This places Zynga’s evaluation at $12.7 billion, making this the largest acquisition in the video game industry to date. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year which ends on the 30th of June 2022.

Take-Two Interactive has confirmed that Zynga, which has over 3,000 employees, will make use of their IP, which includes Grand Theft Auto, BioShock, Borderlands and 2K, in the mobile space. Take-Two Interactive has also confirmed that the will continue to make acquisitions should it meet its criteria of “great teams, great intellectual property, and accretive transactions”.

Here’s what Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, had to say:

We are thrilled to announce our transformative transaction with Zynga, which significantly diversifies our business and establishes our leadership position in mobile, the fastest growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry. This strategic combination brings together our best-in-class console and PC franchises, with a market-leading, diversified mobile publishing platform that has a rich history of innovation and creativity. Zynga also has a highly talented and deeply experienced team, and we look forward to welcoming them into the Take-Two family in the coming months. As we combine our complementary businesses and operate at a much larger scale, we believe that we will deliver significant value to both sets of stockholders, including $100 million of annual cost synergies within the first two years post-closing and at least $500 million of annual Net Bookings opportunities over time.

Here’s what Frank Gibeau, CEO of Zynga, had to say:

Combining Zynga’s expertise in mobile and next-generation platforms with Take-Two’s best-in-class capabilities and intellectual property will enable us to further advance our mission to connect the world through games while achieving significant growth and synergies together. I am proud of our team’s hard work to deliver a strong finish to 2021, with one of the best performances in Zynga’s history. We are incredibly excited to have found a partner in Take-Two that shares our commitment to investing in our players, amplifying our creative culture, and generating more value for stockholders. With this transformative transaction, we begin a new journey which will allow us to create even better games, reach larger audiences and achieve significant growth as a leader in the next era of gaming.