EA Drops Efforts to Acquire Take-Two

Electronic Arts(EA) annonced Sunday that it was abandoning its efforts to acquire Take-Two Interactive(TTWO).

In a news release, EA said that while it continued to have a "high regard" for Take-Two's creative teams and products, it had decided not to make a proposal to acquire Take-Two and had terminated merger discussions. Electronic Arts said it made the decision after reviewing confidential materials provided by Take-Two Interactive.

In late February, Electronic Arts made its original hostile bid for Take-Two, which makes the popular Grand Theft Auto game. Take-Two later tried to thwart a takeover by issuing additional shares of its stock. In response, EA dropped the price per share of its offer.

Last month, EA said its would allow its bid to expire, but a deal still seemed possible. That's because EA said it was willing to listen to a presentation by Take-Two's management and look at confidential information about the potential acquiree.

Shares of EA ended Friday down 57 cents at $44.99. Shares of Take-Two ended the session up 24 cents at $21.89.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints