After a long time, Electronic Arts admit defeat and has walked away. Initially EA offered to buy Take Two Interactive (makers of the GTA series) in February but got their offer turned down and thus continued to make hostile bids instead – something that isn't too nice business practice. Over and over Take Two kept turning down EA's offers due to thinking they undervalued them.
Throughout the process, EA often stressed the time sensitivity of its offer. "We've been pretty consistent about this from the start," EA corporate communications VP Jeff Brown told Gamasutra. "All along, we said that the model was dependent on getting their titles for distribution for Christmas this year."
"It is now clear we passed a threshold, and that's not going to happen. With that, it changes our economics and we are stepping away."
However, Brown says that Take-Two has offered EA its due diligence to review and discuss. "They've invited us in, and we're taking advantage of that opportunity," says Brown.
"We are hopeful that diligence will support the price of $25.74 [per share]," says Brown, though he declined to speculate on whether he expects the two companies to reach an acquisition agreement.
