Take-Two Interactive and Zynga have announced that the former has agreed to buy the latter in a deal worth $12.7 billion. According to the announcement, the new acquisition positions Take-Two “as one of the largest and most diversified mobile game publishers in the industry,” which seems to be the purpose behind it. The deal would bring franchises like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and Borderlands under the same umbrella as FarmVille, High Heels, and Words With Friends.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The deal is described as a combination of the two companies, but the details of it read more like a direct acquisition. Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two, will continue to serve in that role following the closing of the acquisition. Zynga’s Frank Gibeau and Bernard Kim will oversee the company’s mobile efforts and day-to-day operations of the combined Zynga and T2 Mobile Games business under the Zynga brand. The whole thing is still subject to stockholder and regulatory approval, but is expected to close in Q1 of FY 2023, which ends June 30th.
“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,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two, as part of the announcement. “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.”
“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,” said Frank Gibeau, CEO of Zynga, as part of the same announcement. “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.”
What do you make of Take-Two acquiring Zynga — and all that entails? Are you looking forward to seeing what the newly combined company ends up doing together? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!
