NEW YORK – Take-Two Interactive, the video game giant responsible for franchises as popular as “Grand Theft Auto” and “Red Dead Redemption,” announced Monday the acquisition of Zynga, which offers titles like “FarmVille” and ” Words With Friends ”in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately US $ 12.7 billion.
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The acquisition would see a marriage between a console gaming powerhouse, Take-Two, and a cellphone game company with tens of millions of followers.
Zynga shareholders will receive US $ 3.50 in cash and US $ 6.36 in Take-Two shares for each share outstanding at the time of closing.
Take-Two’s big boss Strauss Zelnick will occupy the same functions within the new company.
Take-Two believes the merger will lead to the creation of mobile versions of some of its console and personal computer games.
Take-Two said Monday that it expects annual savings of around US $ 100 million for the two years following the transaction.
Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau and Publishing Director Bernard Kim will oversee the integration and day-to-day operation of the new mobile game company Zynga-T2, which will operate under the Zynga brand within Take. -Two.
Two members of Zynga’s board of directors will also join Take-Two, which will now number ten.
The agreement gives Zynga 45 days to consider possible alternative proposals.
The deal is expected to be finalized in Take-Two’s first quarter of fiscal year 2023, which ends on June 30. The deal has been approved by both boards of directors, but has yet to be approved by shareholders of both companies.
Zynga’s stock jumped 52.5% to US $ 9.15 on Monday, but Take-Two’s slipped 8.7% to US $ 150.25.
The Associated Press