Take-Two Interactive, the company behind the Grand Theft Auto series, announced that it is buying all outstanding shares of Zynga for $12.7 billion.
The publisher giant announced the news this morning with a press release that says Take-Two spent $9.86 a share to acquire Zynga, which is perhaps most famous for titles like FarmVille, Words With Friends, and the upcoming Star Wars: Hunters. Bringing Zynga under the Take-Two umbrella immediately makes Take-Two one of the largest publishers of mobile games in the world, which the press release says is “the fastest-growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry.”
“[This acquisition] unifies highly complementary businesses, including Take-Two’s best-in-class portfolio of console and PC games and Zynga’s industry-leading mobile franchises,” the press release for the announcement reads. “[It also] creates one of the largest publicly traded interactive entertainment companies in the world.”
Take-Two CEO and chairman Strauss Zelnick indicates that this acquisition will pave the way for the company to create more mobile games based on its already-popular titles on consoles and PC.
“This 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,” Zelnick writes. “As we combine our complementary businesses and operate at a much larger scale, we believe that we will deliver significant value to both sets of stockholders.”
This acquisition is a smart move for Take-Two considering the rapidly-expanding growth of the mobile market. As the press release points out, it’s the fastest-growing segment within the games development industry, “with an estimated $136 billion in gross bookings in 2021.”
Zynga is a company comprised of nearly 3000 employees and following the close of the transaction, it seems that things will continue as usual, and the same can be said for the company’s leadership.
“At the close of the transaction, Strauss Zelnick will continue to serve as chairman and CEO, and the management team of Take-Two will continue to lead the combined company,” the press release reads. “Zynga’s highly skilled and proven management team, led by Frank Gibeau and Zynga’s president of publishing, Bernard Kim, will drive the strategic direction for Take-Two’s mobile efforts and will oversee the integration, and day-to-day operations of the combined Zynga and T2 mobile games business, which will operate under the Zynga brand as its own label within the company. Additionally, Take-Two will expand its Board of Directors to 10 members upon the closing of the transaction to add two members from Zynga’s Board of Directors.”
This transaction is scheduled to be completed during the first quarter of Take-Two’s fiscal year 2023, which ends June 30, 2022.
What Take-Two games do you want to see mobile versions of? Let us know in the comments below!
