Take-Two in talks to buy Codemasters
Racing publisher says it has discussed a deal that would value it at nearly $1 billion
Take-Two is in talks to buy Codemasters.
Codemasters today informed investors that it has been in discussions with Take-Two for a sale of the company, and has received a non-binding offer to acquire the company for 485 pence per share (120 pence of that would be paid cash, the rest in Take-Two Interactive shares).
Codemasters closed the trading day yesterday at 435 pence per share, making the offer price a bit more than an 11% premium.
Currently, Codemasters market cap values the company at £662.98 million ($873.12 million), but Take-Two's offer would value it at £739.19 million ($973.48 million).
The deal would be conditional on Take-Two completing due diligence and the recommendation of the Codemasters board of directors, which at the moment intends to recommend unanimously that all Codemasters shareholders accept the deal.
However, discussions are ongoing and Take-Two has not yet made a final offer, and details such as the cash-stock ratio of the deal may still be amended.
Take-Two has until December 4 to decide whether it will make a binding offer or not, although that could be extended with approval from regulators. The publisher did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Update: In a separate announcement, Take-Two explained its thinking behind the acquisition, saying, "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.
"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."