Several analysts have begun making predictions that the original refusal to Electronic Arts offer to Take-Two could potentially lead to a hostile takeover. This wouldn’t surprise us one bit as EA has more than enough money in the bank to make it happen. A lot of gamers around the world have shown their distaste for this latest news, but it may not matter what their stance is, considering it won’t matter what Take-Two’s stance is either.
"We believe EA is likely to go ‘hostile’ and likely be successful in a tender offer, given the offer price is 50 percent above the stock’s recent closing price of $17.36, 44 percent above the stock’s average price in the last one year [and] 56 percent above the stock’s average price in the last two years," wrote Stern Agee’s Arvind Bhatia, who upgraded the share status from "sell" to "hold."
Right now, Take-Two has stood firm in their belief that the current offer is underwhelming and not an appropriate sum for the publishing company’s buyout. However, Michael Pachter, who always seems to be chiming in on the gaming industry, seems to feel that the offer is more than acceptable.
"We believe that EA’s offer is significantly higher than the amount that would be paid by a major media company, and think that the company is uniquely positioned to derive synergies from a combination with Take-Two. Other prospective bidders are simply not in the same position to value Take-Two as is EA," the analyst added.
Coincidentally, Take-Two’s shares rose 50% today to $26.45 USD per share which is obviously related to the latest news involving the company. Pachter could see EA offering up to a $1 more per share in order to make the transfer a bit more, “friendly.”
This is obviously a huge situation around the gaming world, so we’ll do whatever it is we can in order to keep you updated on the situation.