Take-Two completes $12.7bn acquisition of Zynga

Take-Two – which owns Grand Theft Auto publisher Rockstar and NBA 2K developer 2K Games – agreed in January to pay $3.50 in cash and 0.0406 shares of its own common stock in exchange for each Zynga share.

With the deal having received regulatory and shareholder approval, it has now come into effect.

“We are excited for Zynga’s next-generation mobile platform, free-to-play expertise, diverse offering of games and incredible team to join the Take-Two family,” Frank Gibeau, chief executive of Zynga, said. “We are eager to continue building an unparalleled portfolio of games that will reach broader markets and lead to continued growth for this next chapter of Zynga’s history.”

Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two, said the deal would help Take-Two increase its focus on mobile gaming, where it intends to expand.

“We are thrilled to complete our combination with Zynga, which is a pivotal step to increase exponentially our net bookings from mobile, the fastest-growing segment in interactive entertainment, while also providing us with substantial cost synergies and revenue opportunities,” Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two, said. “As we bring together our exceptional talent, exciting pipeline of games, and industry-leading technologies and capabilities, we believe that we can take our portfolio to another level of creativity, innovation, and quality. 

“Each of our teams has a strong history of operational execution, and together, we expect that we will enhance our financial profile through greater scale and profitability, paving the way for us to deliver strong shareholder value.”