Take-Two Interactive to Acquire Zynga for $12.7 billion

Take-Two Interactive will acquire mobile game company Zynga for $12.7 billion USD, both companies announced today.

If approved, this would become one of the biggest acquisitions in video game history. It surpasses the $7.5 billion Microsoft paid for ZeniMax Media (which includes Bethesda Softworks and other studios).

With the acquisition, Zynga’s popular franchises such as CSR Racing, Farmville and Words with Friends would join Grand Theft Auto, Civilization, Red Dead Redemption, Bully, NBA 2K, and many other Take-Two Interactive IPs.

The deal is currently expected to close during the first quarter of the company’s fiscal year, which ends on June 30, 2022.

“We are thrilled to announce our transformative transaction with Zynga, which significantly diversifies our business and establishes our leadership position in mobile, the fastest growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two. “This strategic combination 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. Zynga also has a highly talented and deeply experienced team, and we look forward to welcoming them into the Take-Two family in the coming months.”

Take-Two Interactive is on the way to become one of the main and largest publishers of mobile titles.

[Sources]: Zynga: Take-Two and Zynga to Combine, Bringing Together Best-in-Class Intellectual Properties and a Market-Leading, Diversified Mobile Publishing Platform, to Enhance Positioning as a Global Leader in Interactive Entertainment – [Archive]. Take-Two Interactive: Take-Two and Zynga to Combine, Bringing Together Best-in-Class Intellectual Properties and a Market-Leading, Diversified Mobile Publishing Platform, to Enhance Positioning as a Global Leader in Interactive Entertainment – [Archive]. Zynga & Take-Two Interactive (via Business Wire): Take-Two and Zynga to Combine, Bringing Together Best-in-Class Intellectual Properties and a Market-Leading, Diversified Mobile Publishing Platform, to Enhance Positioning as a Global Leader in Interactive Entertainment – [Archive].