Take-Two Interactive Inc. plans to acquire Zynga Inc. in a $12.7 billion deal that will give the videogame publisher greater exposure to the mobile-gaming business.
The deal for Zynga
ZNGA,
will include a mix of cash and stock, Take-Two
TTWO,
said in a Monday morning press release. The company intends to pay $3.50 in cash and $6.36 in Take-Two shares for each share of Zynga.
Zynga’s stock was up 52% in premarket trading. Take-Two shares were off nearly 9% premarket.
Take-Two said in its press release that the merger will make it one of the largest mobile-gaming publishers, and it called out mobile games as “the fastest-growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry.”
Zynga publishes games such as FarmVille and Empires & Puzzles, while Take-Two is known for powerhouse titles including Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption.
Take-Two expects to see about $100 million of annual cost synergies in the first two years after the deal closes. It also sees the potential for “more than $500 million of annual net bookings opportunities over time.”
“As we combine our complementary businesses and operate at a much
larger scale, we believe that we will deliver significant value to both sets of stockholders,” Take-Two Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said in the release.
Take-Two further noted that through “sharing best practices and key data insights,” it expects “to benefit from significant development and publishing synergies, unlock new revenue streams and reach new audiences around the world.”
The company anticipates that the deal will close in the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, which ends in June 2022.
