Just recently, two large video game companies merged to become one. Take-Two Interactive is best known for releasing enormous AAA games like Grand Theft Auto, but they’ve recently shown a strong interest in mobile gaming. To that end, Take-Two announced the acquisition of Zynga for a staggering $12.7 billion.
Zynga is purchased by Take-Two Interactive for $12.7 billion
Prior to this transaction, Take-Two was valued at roughly $19 billion, so that’s a significant sum of money! Take-Two paid $9.86 per share for all of Zynga’s outstanding shares, which equates to $3.50 in cash and $6.36 in Take-Two ordinary stock.
Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged his delight at the company’s foray into the mobile industry.
We are thrilled to announce our transformative transaction with Zynga, which significantly diversifies our business and establishes our leadership position in mobile, the fastest growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry. 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. Zynga also has a highly talented and deeply experienced team, and we look forward to welcoming them into the Take-Two family in the coming months.
Frank Gibeau, the CEO of Zynga, also joined in, forecasting significant expansion for Zynga’s reach.
I am proud of our team’s hard work to deliver a strong finish to 2021, with one of the best performances in Zynga’s history. We are incredibly excited to have found a partner in Take-Two that shares our commitment to investing in our players, amplifying our creative culture, and generating more value for stockholders. 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.
Increasing presence in the mobile market
You should expect Take-Two and Zynga to make a big push into the mobile industry now that they’re under the same banner. Strauss Zelnick anticipates $500 million in yearly Net Bookings, which they will achieve via mobile games based on classic Take-Two titles. Take-Two also anticipates $100 million in “annual cost synergies” following the merger, which is a fancy way of saying they’ll cut the fat. Hopefully, this does not result in layoffs, since Zynga joins Take-team Two’s with about 3,000 mobile-focused personnel.
