Take-Two to Buy U.K. Game Maker Codemasters for $956 Million

(Bloomberg) -- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the company behind popular video games including Grand Theft Auto and NBA 2K, agreed to buy the British developer Codemasters Group Holdings Plc in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about 726 million pounds ($956 million).

The offer values Codemasters at 464 pence per share based on Take-Two’s last closing price, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The companies had disclosed the negotiations on Nov. 6 after the talks leaked to the press.

Codemasters is best known for the Colin McRae and official Formula 1 racing games, and has seen its shares soar more than 60% this year. Similar to others in the industry, it’s benefited from a surge in video-game sales to customers stuck at home during lockdowns. Take-Two posted results that exceeded expectations on Thursday. It also issued an upbeat outlook for the year.

“Take-Two believes that it can bring benefits to Codemasters’ performance by leveraging Take-Two’s global distribution and marketing infrastructure, together with Take-Two’s core operating expertise in live operations, analytics, product development, and brand and performance marketing,” the U.S. company said in the statement.

For every share they hold, Codemasters investors will get 120 pence in cash plus 0.02834 shares of Take Two.

Codemasters shares fell 4.8% to 455 pence at 8:57 a.m. in London trading on Tuesday. Take Two closed 8.7% lower at $159.99 in New York on Monday.

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