Codemasters will soon be part of Take-Two. If the shareholders do not disagree, the takeover will be completed at the beginning of next year. 980 million dollars will be exchanged in hands.
The next big takeover is imminent in the games industry. After it became known a few days ago that Take-Two is interested in Codemasters and talks are ongoing, both companies are now one step further.
In an announcement sent to investors on Tuesday, Take-Two and Codemasters said they expect the acquisition to close in the first quarter of 2021 – subject to shareholder approval at an upcoming general meeting. In recommending this offer to shareholders, the Board of Codemasters is convinced that it is in the best interests of all shareholders.
Upon completion of the $980 million transactions, Codemasters will operate within Take-Two’s 2K label under the existing leadership of CEO Frank Sagnier, CFO Rashid Varachia, and the rest of the executive team.
“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 organization’s long-term growth,” said Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two.
Gerhard Florin of Codemasters commented on the takeover with the forecast that the takeover would help the developer to achieve long-term success: “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,” he said.
Based in the UK, Codemasters owns numerous brands dedicated to the racing genre. These include DiRT, F1, Grid, and OnRush. The company recently secured the rights to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) and in 2019 acquired Slightly Mad, the developers of the Project Cars series, and Fast & Furious Crossroads.
