Wait… WHAT?!
Codemasters, one of the oldest video game developers in the UK, have hit some financial troubles this year, it’s fair to say. The development studio primarily focuses on racing games and are responsible for the TOCA series, Brian Lara’s Cricket and the Colin MacRae Rally series. For over 20 years, their games have entertained petrolheads around the world. Sadly, the economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the pandemic have had their toll, and Codemasters approached Take-Two Interactive for a takeover in November.
However, Electronic Arts have approached Codemasters this morning (December 14th 2020) with a takeover bid of £1 billion. This scuppers the plans of Take-Two Interactive, who planned to take over Codemasters themselves. Take-Two interactive are well known as the people behind the Red Dead Redemption franchise.
The Nitty Gritty
The executive board of Codemasters have recommended that the shareholders accept Electronic Arts’ direct £1 Billion takeover instead of the cash-and-stock buyout by Take-Two Interactive valued at £795 million.
Electronic Arts (EA) have a market share of roughly £30 billion at the time of writing and is worth double of Take-Two Interactive, but this isn’t over just yet: Market analysts predict that Take-Two Interactive will prepare a counter-offer.
Any quotes from EA?
EA’s Chief Executive Andrew Wilson had this to say: “Our industry is growing, the racing category is growing, and together we will be positioned to lead in a new era of racing entertainment”.
We will of course update you when more happens with this story. The author of this article very much hopes that Take-Two Interactive secures the deal with a counter-offer, as he’d love to keep playing F1 games without the games being riddled with microtranscations.
For the author’s personal takes, you can of course contact me on twitter here, or in the comments.
God bless and keep safe,
Davey
