Amidst the massive deals made by Microsoft and Sony for Activision-Blizzard and Bungie respectively, Take-Two's $12.7 billion dollar acquisition of mobile game giant, Zynga, has been relatively under the radar. But that doesn't mean that the deal is a small-scale one – after all, Zynga made nearly $3 billion in 2021.
After almost five months of announcing the deal, stockholders from both companies have agreed upon all the proposed terms of the merger, which will be completed as of Monday, May 23 (thanks, VGC). While Microsoft and Sony have both bolstered their live game shooter rosters, Take-Two already has the money printing machine that is GTA Online. Add to that the microtransactions that come from FarmVille and other Zynga mobile titles, and the publisher finds itself in a very comfortable position.
“We believe that our combination with Zynga will be transformative for our company as we create a powerful and diverse portfolio of industry-leading titles, while also becoming a leader in mobile games,” said Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick.
“We are excited to be one step closer to combining Zynga’s free-to-play expertise and next-generation mobile platform with Take-Two’s best-in-class capabilities and renowned intellectual properties,” added Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau.
Take-Two acquired all of Zynga's outstanding shares for a total value of $9.861 per share. $3.50 of it was in cash and $6.361 in shares of Take-Two common stock, which saw the company's valuation reach $12.7 billion. As it stands, the mobile and social game developer is more valuable than triple-A studios like CD Projekt, Ubisoft, and Square Enix.
With the split between EA and FIFA, the latter is currently in the process of securing FIFA licensed games made by other developers. Since it already has sports experience with its 2K titles, Take-Two seemed like an obvious choice for FIFA to consider, however, Zelnick has mentioned that there are no discussions ongoing at the moment. On a recent earnings call, he said that Take-Two is "definitely interested in expanding our opportunities in sports, and FIFA has a great brand and incredible clout, but we have no current plans to discuss".