In a very surprising development today, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of studios such as 2K Games and Rockstar Games, has announced that they are purchasing the mobile company giant Zynga. The acquisition makes Take-Two one of the largest and most diversified mobile game publishers in the industry.
The company has acquired all the outstanding shares of Zynga for a value of $9.86 per share, which estimates the purchase to be worth around $12.7 billion in total. In comparison, the ZeniMax Media acquisition by Microsoft cost the latter around $7.5 billion.
Speaking about the acquisition, Strauss Zelnick, the Chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive, says that the acquisition “brings together our best-in-class console and PC franchises, with a market-leading, diversified mobile publishing platform that has a rich history of innovation and creativity.”
This means that all the Zynga’s portfolio, which includes games such as FarmVille, Words With Friends, CSR Racing, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, and others, is now under the Take-Two Interactive family, which implies that they’re actively trying to get involved in the mobile market.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see how this acquisition benefits both companies as a whole.