The past few years have seen numerous acquisitions from gaming companies large and small. PlayStation acquired both Bluepoint Games and Housemarque, the creators of hits such as the Demon's Souls remake and Returnal, respectively. There was of course Microsoft's humongous buyout of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda and its many studios that shook up the video game industry right before the launch of next-gen consoles. Now, in what is being considered by many to be the biggest game company acquisition in history, Take-Two has announced that it is purchasing mobile developer Zynga for approximately $12.7 billion. This will put Zynga alongside other companies such as 2K Sports and Rockstar Games under the Take-Two umbrella.
Some of the biggest deals that have come out of the industry in the past few years have included the previously mentioned acquisition of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda by Microsoft that was priced at $8.1 billion and Tencent's recent purchase of Supercell that priced out at around $8.6 billion. Take-Two's new deal with Zynga will eclipse both by nearly $4 billion more, making it the biggest game acquisition in history and one of the biggest ever in any media.
Take-Two made the announcement in a press release Monday morning stating that the company has facilitated the deal by purchasing Zynga shares using cash and Take-Two's own stock. Zynga shareholders will be receiving $3.50 in cash and Take-Two common stock priced at $6.36, bringing the Zynga total share value to $9.86, and marking a premium of 64% on the closing share price as of January 7, 2022. This type of deal was apparently decided upon instead of a total cash buyout by Take-Two.
In a statement by Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick, the company announced it is thrilled to be diversifying its studio lineup with Zynga, establishing Take-Two's firm foothold in the mobile game industry. Zelnick mentions that Take-Two's best-in-class console and PC franchises will now be joined by a mobile publishing platform that has "a rich history of innovation and creativity."
Zynga is of course one of the most successful mobile game developers in the market having essentially kickstarted the popularity of the platform with games such as the enduringly popular FarmVille and Words With Friends, alongside other hits such as Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells and Draw Something. Currently, the Zynga is working on putting out Star Wars Hunters which will release for mobile platforms along with Nintendo Switch sometime in 2022.
Source: Take-Two Games