http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1439228620080914?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNewsElectronic Arts ends merger talks with Take TwoBy Anupreeta Das
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. video game giant Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has pulled away from an offer to buy rival Take Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after pursuing the "Grand Theft Auto" game publisher for more than six months.
On Sunday, EA said it ended private negotiations with Take Two about a potential transaction and had decided to no longer pursue an acquisition.
EA and Take Two entered these private talks last month after EA dropped its hostile bid, worth roughly $2 billion, which the "GTA" publisher had rejected as inadequate.
Take Two lost its luster partly because of EA's own strengthening position in the video games market, which reduced the potential value of any transaction, EA's senior vice president for corporate development Owen Mahoney said on Sunday.
"We were very convinced the value of the transaction would decline over time and have come to feel more and more strongly about our own business," Mahoney said in an interview.
EA, which publishes hit titles like "Madden NFL," has said it expects new games such as the long-awaited "Spore," the evolution-inspired game, to drive sales in the 2009 financial year, even as it narrowed its quarterly loss and doubled revenue in July under a turnaround strategy.
EA's insistence that its $25.74-a-share offer for Take Two was adequate was a likely sticking point during the talks.
"It's rather straightforward," said Take Two Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick in an interview, when asked about why the talks fell apart.
