Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of developers such as Rockstar Games and 2K Games, is in talks to purchase veteran UK publisher Codemasters, responsible for multiple racing series such as DIRT, OnRush, GRID, and the official F1 franchise.
Codemasters announced to its investors that Take-Two had made a non-binding offer to purchase the company at 485 pence (around $6.40 per share), payable at 120 pence-per-share in cash and the remainder in Take-Two stock. This values Codemasters at around $974 million USD, which is an increase on Codemasters’ self-value approximation of around $873 million.
Should Take-Two make an official bid, Codemasters has stated its intention to unanimously recommend that its shareholders accept the deal, officially making Codemasters part of the Take-Two Interactive portfolio. Take-Two has a deadline of December 4 to solidify its offer.
“Take-Two believes that the combination of Take-Two and Codemasters would bring together two world-class interactive entertainment portfolios, with a highly complementary fit between Take-Two’s 2K publishing label and Codemasters in the racing genre,” reads a statement from the holding company. “In addition, Take-Two believes that it can bring benefits to Codemasters’ performance by leveraging Take-Two’s global distribution network and 2K’s core operating expertise in publishing, including live operations, analytics, product development, and brand and performance marketing.”
Codemasters’ most recent release, DIRT 5, is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.
Codemasters confirms its in talks with Take-Two [VGC / GamesIndustry.biz]
Source: Destructoid Take-Two Interactive in negotiations to purchase Codemasters