Take-Two Interactive, the maker of Grand Theft Auto, is acquiring Zynga in a cash-and-stock deal. The deal is valued at about $12.7 billion. Zynga shareholders will receive $3.50 cash and $6.36 in shares of Take-Two common stock for each share of Zynga outstanding stock at closing.
The transaction is expected to be close in Q1 of the fiscal year 2023.
This deal will help Take-Two Interactive in getting some pie of the mobile gaming industry. The mobile gaming industry booked $136 billion in 2021 and is currently growing at over 8 percent.
Zynga is a popular gaming company known for FarmVille, Empires & Puzzles, Words with Friends, and more. The company has a massive reach on mobile gamers.
Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau, a former executive at Electronic Arts, said “further advance our mission to connect the world through games while achieving significant growth and synergies together.”
“This strategic combination brings together our best-in-class console and PC franchises, with a market-leading, diversified mobile publishing platform that has a rich history of innovation and creativity,” said Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick.
Soon after this deal was confirmed, shares of Zynga jumped 52 percent to $9.14. Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software fell more than 8 percent.
