EA Extends Take-Two Deadline For Third Time

As widely expected, officials from Electronic Arts have confirmed that the company has extended its tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock (including associated preferred stock purchase rights) of Rockstar Games owners Take-Two Interactive. The deadline had already been extended twice, to 11:59 pm EDT on Friday, 16th May. The new deadline for the offer will be 11:59pm EDT on Monday, 16th June. Even as it announced the new deadline, Electronic Arts hinted that it could be extended further if the hostile takeover was not completed by that time. Despite calls from several analysts, Electronic Arts has failed to increase the offer, which remains at $25.74 per share – slightly less than that originally offered after Take-Two announced additional shares were to be issued to Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick’s Zelnick Media. As of 5pm on 16th May, approximately 6,210,261 shares of Take-Two had been tendered in and not withdrawn from the tender offer. “Extending our offer will allow the FTC review process to continue,” said Owen Mahoney, senior vice president of EA corporate development. “EA’s offer price remains unchanged at $25.74 per share and our offer is still subject to conditions that include regulatory approval. As stated earlier, we retain the right to terminate the offer if the conditions are not satisfied.”