Closing a transaction that began in January, Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga has been completed.
In this way, the developer of famous mobile games joins the Take-Two family of brands, including Rockstar Games and 2K.
Zynga is now part of Take-Two
In January, both companies announced this acquisition, valued at 12,700 million dollars. After going through all the bureaucratic procedures, including obtaining the approval of the shareholders, the deal was formally closed.
Zynga games already consolidated in the medium, such as Farmville and Words with Friends, plus a new Star Wars franchise -which would arrive this year on mobile phones and Nintendo Switch-, are now part of a much larger catalog of video game titles for different platforms, from the hand of Take-Two.
“We are delighted to complete our combination with Zynga, which is a critical step in exponentially growing our net bookings from mobile, the fastest growing segment in interactive entertainment, while also providing us with significant cost synergies and revenue opportunities.”commented Strauss Zelnick, president and CEO of Take-Two, through a release. “As we bring together our exceptional talent, exciting game projects and industry-leading technologies and capabilities, we believe we can take our portfolio to another level of creativity, innovation and quality. Each of our teams has a strong track record of operational execution, and together, we look forward to improving our financial profile through increased scale and profitability, paving the way for us to deliver strong shareholder value.”he added.
From Zynga, this process has been well received. “We’re excited about Zynga’s next-generation mobile platform, free-to-play gaming experience, diverse game offerings, and incredible team to join the Take-Two family.”said Frank Gibeau, CEO of the acquired company. “We look forward to continuing to build an unrivaled game portfolio that will reach broader markets and lead to continued growth for this next chapter in Zynga’s history.”.
This business move positions Take-Two as one of the largest publishers of mobile games, which is now the fastest growing segment of the industry. In addition, this purchase unifies highly complementary businesses, such as Take-Two’s portfolio of console and PC games, plus Zynga’s celebrated mobile franchises.
With this transaction, one of the largest publicly traded interactive entertainment companies in the world is created, with large net reserves and the projection of continuing to grow within this market.
These are hectic times for the video game industry. Adding to this transaction, already completed, another movement that shook the industry is still in progress: The purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, still awaiting regulatory approval.
