Activision Could Be No-Scoping For A Take-Two Takedown

When it comes to lucrative game franchises two of the most well-known ones happen to be Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Activision publishes the CoD franchise while Take-Two Interactive is responsible for publishing GTA. However, there are rumors floating around that Activision might be trying to purchase Take-Two.

Speculation began when a research note from Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey talked about “an emerging romance” between both companies. Hickey said, “For Activision, acquiring Take-Two Interactive would be a no-brainer, in our view, circling some of the strongest development talent and owned IP in the world, within a company that has nearly $1 billion in cash and trades at a comparably lower multiple.”

Recently, Activision Blizzard seems to have shown interest in forming its own movie studios to create feature films based on its game IPs. It’s a direction that, according to Hickey, Take-Two admires and respects Activision’s “deep connections to Hollywood.”

Back in 2008, Electronic Arts tried to purchase Take-Two for $2 billion which was about $26 per share, but the deal fell through. However, if Activision were able to make such a deal, it would give the company three strong studios according to Hickey who said, “With the acquisition of Take-Two Interactive, Activision would have arguably the three strongest development studios in the world with Rockstar Games, Bungie, and Blizzard.”

One can only imagine the amount of money to be made if both companies were to merge.

Would you want Activision to purchase Take-Two?