Zynga, Maker Of Video Games Like ‘Farmville,’ Acquired By Take-Two Interactive For $12.7B
deadline.comTake-Two Interactive, publisher of video games including Grand Theft Auto is acquiring Farmville maker Zynga for $12.7 billion, creating a bulked-up gaming giant.Under the deal, Take-Two will acquire all of outstanding shares of Zynga in a cash-and-stock transaction representing a 64% premium on Zynga’s stock price as of last Friday.
Zynga shares, which have been in a slump over the past year, rocketed almost 50% before the opening bell.Take-Two is led by Strauss Zelnick, a veteran media and tech executive who became Zynga’s chairman and CEO and the firm’s largest shareholder in a 2007 takeover.
The well-connected exec took a turn in the traditional spotlight in 2018, serving as chairman of CBS Corp. and helping steer the media company through its Les Moonves travails en route to its reunion with Viacom.The merger creates a video game outfit with a vast portfolio of titles.
Take-Two’s various labels make Red Dead Redemption, Midnight Club, NBA 2K, BioShock, Borderlands, Civilization, Mafia and Kerbal Space Program.
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