At a whopping $9.86 billion, which is being divided at $3.50 in cash and $6.36 in Take-Two common stock shares, Take-Two Interactive has acquired Zynga, among the largest mobile gaming distributors. This purchase now becomes the largest acquisition in the video game industry.
On Monday morning, Jan. 10, a conference call at 8:00 AM EST sealed the deal, pitting the acquisition at a $12.7 billion enterprise valuation. The agreement and coalition between both institutions will afford them an estimated "$100 million of cost synergies within the first two years" and well over "$500 million of annual Net Bookings opportunities over time," as per Take-Two's press release.
"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," says Zynga CEO, Frank Gibeau. "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."
Zynga's portfolio includes the likes of
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 10, 2022
FarmVille, Words With Friends, CSR Racing, Empires & Puzzles, Golf Rival, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, Merge Dragons! and Zynga Poker.
Take Two aims to become a leader in mobile gaming, create mobile games based on Take Two IP.
Zynga is a world-class mobile platform publisher with experiences that include Words with Friends, Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells, FarmVille, CSR Racing, Zynga Poker, and much more. The acquisition is intended to further this immense portfolio and help mold Take-Two IP onto the mobile platform.
CEO of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick, relayed his enthusiasm for the acquisition, citing the growth and business diversification for the mobile sector. "Ths 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."
Take-Two is arguably among the biggest names in video gaming, behind publishing such IPs as Grand Theft Auto, Midnight Club, BioShock, Borderlands, NBA 2K, PGA Tour, and much more. With these massive franchises in the ever-talented and committed hands of Zynga, the duo will no sooner take over the mobile front with interesting and innovative software.
This isn't the first - nor will it be the last - time billions of dollars were floated around gaming enterprises, as seen in Microsoft's $7.5 billion spending spree on ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda, developer beheind behemoths in gaming, from Elder Scrolls and Fallout to Doom and Quake. That deal itself comes second to Tencent's $8.6 billion purchase of mobile game company Supercell.
