November 10, 2020 Take-Two has announced it’s reached an agreement with Codemasters regarding the acquisition.
Take-Two is the company behind publishing labels Rockstar and 2K Games, responsible for everything from Grand Theft Auto to Borderlands and the 2K sports series. Codemasters is the dev and publisher behind loads of popular racing games, including the Dirt and F1 series. The two companies are planning to get together, and pretty soon – Take-Two has announced it’s reached an agreement with Codemasters about an acquisition of the UK-based studio, and that this is due to be completed in early 2021.
Take-Two initially confirmed it had “made a proposal” to acquire Codemasters, in a press release where it laid out the terms of the potential deal. That was just a proposal, pending legal requirements and a response from the board of Codemasters. Now, in a press release shared today Take-Two has confirmed it’s “reached an agreement with the Board of Codemasters for the recommended acquisition of Codemasters”. The announcement adds: “The acquisition is anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of calendar 2021”. The acquisition is being recommended to shareholders, and will go ahead subject to their approval.
“We are exceedingly pleased to announce this recommended transaction with the Board of Codemasters,” Take-Two CEO and chairman Strauss Zelnick says.
“Codemasters has a renowned history of creating some of our industry’s most beloved and commercially successful racing franchises, and we believe that their offerings will be highly complementary to our sports portfolio and enhance further our organisation’s long-term growth.”
“With a leading position in sports gaming, the Board of Codemasters firmly believes the Company will benefit from Take-Two’s broad capabilities which will help propel the long term success of Codemasters,” Codemasters chairman Gerhard Florin adds.
Codemasters most recently published the latest entry in the Dirt series to a solid critical response. (You can read our Dirt 5 review for more on that.) Take-Two is one of the biggest third-party game publishers in the world, alongside names like Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft.
Additional reporting by Carrie Talbot