Take-Two Interactive has just struck a deal to acquire Zynga, with plans to make its first inroads into mobile gaming in a big way. The deal just might be the biggest gaming acquisition ever with a combined total of cash and stock price of $12.7 billion. While not the first major studio acquisition by far, when compared to something like Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax (and with it, Bethesda) for $7.5 billion, it’s big.
This acquisition brings Take-Two Interactive, which owns 2K games and Rockstar Games, and such franchises as Red Dead Redemption, BioShock, Grand Theft Auto, and Borderlands a valuable mobile and social gaming platform. Indeed, as part of the deal, T2 Mobile Games will be formed and operate under the Zynga brand as its own new label. Take-Two also gets access to some of Zynga's in-house tools for advertising and user acquisition with an eye on growth for the combined company.
Given that Take-Two already has multiple significant IPs, including ones operating in the online multiplayer space, this kind of mobile platform acquisition does make sense as a gap filler. Now, when this deal does close, what might it mean for the valuable IPs in the company’s portfolio? According to the press release on the deal, “the Company is expected to benefit from significant development and publishing synergies, unlock new revenue streams and reach new audiences around the world”.
Though we’ll all have plenty of time to ponder what it might mean for all of the company’s combined IPs, since the deal won’t close for a while. It’s going to need approval from both Take-Two and Zynga stockholders, but it is going forward with approval from both companies' boards. The current estimated closing is by June 30, 2023.
You can follow the development of the Take-Two Zynga acquisition over at the Take-Two Games site.