EA extends Take-Two deadline to 16 June

Take-Two is responsible for the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto IV

Electronic Arts has one again extended the deadline on its offer to acquire Take-Two, parent of RockStar Games, this time until midnight EDT on 16 June.

The original offer was made in February with a deadline of the end of March. Take-Two's board rejected the offer, although not outright, stipulating that it might be interested in a higher price.

EA then threatened to turn hostile, but moved the deadline to 18 April to cater for the rescheduling of Take-Two's annual stockholder meeting.

The deadline was moved yet again to 16 May when the Take-Two stockholder meeting was moved to 24 April. EA also adjusted the price on the offering to $25.74 per share, estimating the total cost of the acquisition at roughly $2bn.

"Extending our offer will allow the Federal Trade Commission review process to continue," said Owen Mahoney, senior vice president of corporate development at EA.

"EA's offer price remains unchanged at $25.74 per share and is still subject to conditions that include regulatory approval. As stated earlier, we retain the right to terminate the offer if the conditions are not satisfied."

Although the offer was apparently generous when first made, Take-Two's stock has hovered over $27 and has not traded below $26 since 1 May, thanks largely to the hugely successful release of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Although still being resisted by the board, EA reckons that approximately 6,210,261 Take-Two shares had been tendered as of 16 May.