Take-Two wants to acquire Codemasters for 817 million euros

Publisher Take-Two is interested in taking over developer Codemasters. The publisher would have about 900 million euros for the maker of Formula 1 and DiRT. There is a non-binding offer on the table, which Codemasters supports.

Codemasters confirms to various media that it is in talks with the American Take-Two. A takeover bid has already appeared online. Take-Two would donate a total of about 739 million pounds or 817 million euros for Codemasters. About a third of the acquisition would be paid in cash and the remainder in Take-Two shares.

Take-Two’s offer is without obligation, the publisher confirms. Codemasters does say in a response that it wants to accept the offer if Take-Two makes it official. The Board of Directors of Codemasters will recommend this to the shareholders.

The company tells VideoGamesChronicle that it thinks the two companies complement each other well, especially in the racing genre. Codemasters is best known for making racing games such as Formula 1, Colin McRae Rally and DiRT. Take Two is the publisher behind the label 2K, which publishes many sports games. The company says “Take-Two’s global distribution and 2K’s publishing, development and marketing can add a lot to Codemasters.”