Take-Two and Zynga to Combine, Bringing Together Best-in-Class Intellectual Properties and a Market-Leading, Diversified Mobile Publishing Platform, to Enhance Positioning as a Global Leader in Interactive Entertainment
Take-Two to acquire all the outstanding shares of Zynga for a total value of
Transaction represents a 64% premium to Zynga’s closing share price on
Establishes Take-Two as one of the largest publishers of mobile games, the fastest-growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry
Unifies highly complementary businesses, including Take-Two’s best-in-class portfolio of console and PC games and Zynga’s industry-leading mobile franchises
Creates one of the largest publicly traded interactive entertainment companies in the world, with
Transaction expected to deliver approximately
Conference call to discuss the transaction is scheduled for this morning at
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This transformative combination unifies two global leaders in the interactive entertainment business and establishes Take-Two as one of the largest and most diversified mobile game publishers in the industry, with
Both companies have created and expanded iconic franchises, which will combine to form one of the largest and most diverse portfolios of intellectual properties in the sector. Take-Two’s labels are home to some of the most beloved series in the world, including Grand Theft Auto®, Red Dead Redemption®, Midnight Club®, NBA 2K®, BioShock®, Borderlands®, Civilization®, Mafia®, and Kerbal Space Program®, while Zynga’s portfolio includes renowned titles, such as CSR Racing™, Empires & Puzzles™, FarmVille™, Golf Rival™, Hair Challenge™,
Management Comments
“We are thrilled to announce our transformative transaction with Zynga, which significantly diversifies our business and establishes our leadership position in mobile, the fastest growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry,” said
“Combining Zynga’s expertise in mobile and next-generation platforms with Take-Two’s best-in-class capabilities and intellectual property will enable us to further advance our mission to connect the world through games while achieving significant growth and synergies together,” said
Strategic Rationale and Stockholder Value Creation
With Zynga’s stockholders receiving approximately 64.5%1 of the transaction consideration in Take-Two stock, both groups of stockholders will benefit from the combined company’s greater scale, enhanced financial profile, and the synergies created through the transaction.
Combined company is well-positioned to capitalize on the interactive entertainment industry’s strong tailwinds, including a leadership position in mobile. The video game sector has experienced rapid growth over the last few years and is now the largest vertical in the entertainment industry2. Mobile gaming is the fastest growing segment within the industry, with an estimated
Formation of an industry-leading portfolio, comprising Take-Two’s best-in-class intellectual properties and Zynga’s renowned mobile titles. The transaction will create a powerful and diverse portfolio of industry-leading titles that span key platforms and genres across interactive entertainment, developed by some of the most creative and forward-thinking talent within the industry. By sharing best practices and key data insights across the enterprise, the Company is expected to benefit from significant development and publishing synergies, unlock new revenue streams and reach new audiences around the world.
The combined entity has significantly greater scale, with
Addition of Zynga’s mobile titles will expand the Company’s base of Recurrent Consumer Spending (“RCS”). Through the addition of Zynga’s mobile business, particularly its diversified portfolio of live services and upcoming pipeline of new releases, Take-Two will increase its sources of RCS, a highly-attractive revenue stream that helps reduce volatility across reporting periods that has historically been driven by the cadence of Take-Two’s console and PC release slate.
Take-Two has also identified over
Creation of new mobile games for many of the iconic franchises within Take-Two’s portfolio of intellectual property. Take-Two has an extensive catalog of commercially and critically successful console and PC titles with engaged and loyal communities of players, and there is a meaningful opportunity to create mobile games and new cross-platform experiences for many of these properties. Zynga’s nearly 3,000 employees include highly-talented mobile developers, paving the way for Take-Two to accelerate this strategic initiative and introduce its iconic intellectual properties across the fastest-growing platform in the industry.
Ability to optimize RCS by leveraging the collective knowledge across both companies. Both Take-Two and Zynga have extensive capabilities to engage players through live operations (“LiveOps”) and RCS initiatives. By combining resources and proven acumen, the teams at Take-Two and Zynga will deploy best-in-class practices throughout the organization to enhance and grow existing titles across the portfolio. Key opportunities include cross-marketing through a larger, shared customer database and improving game economies through more effective data analytics and machine learning models.
Other strategic benefits include the use of Zynga’s Chartboost advertising platform, which will improve new user acquisition through better audience targeting and optimize mobile advertising inventory to achieve greater yields; geographic expansion into growth markets across
Take-Two expects approximately
The acquisition is structured to maintain a strong balance sheet, including significant annual cash generation. The combined company’s strategic and financial flexibility is expected to be greater than each company on a standalone basis, providing Take-Two with the financial resources to continue to invest in talent, development, and innovation, while also pursuing select inorganic growth opportunities.
Leadership
At the close of the transaction,
Terms of the Acquisition
Zynga stockholders will receive
The transaction includes a collar mechanism on the equity consideration, so that if Take-Two’s 20-day volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) ending on the third trading day prior to closing is in a range from
Within the collar range, the final number of Take-Two shares estimated to be issued on a fully diluted basis will range between approximately 50.3 million and 58.5 million shares. Upon closing of the transaction, current Take-Two stockholders will own between 67.2% and 70.4% and current Zynga stockholders are expected to own between 29.6% and 32.8% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis, respectively, including the shares associated with expected settlement of Zynga’s two outstanding series of convertible notes due 2024 and 2026.
As part of the transaction, Take-Two has received committed financing of
The merger agreement provides for a “go-shop” provision under which Zynga and its Board of Directors may actively solicit, receive, evaluate, and potentially enter negotiations with parties that offer alternative proposals during a 45-day period following the execution date of the definitive agreement, expiring on
1Within a 7.5% symmetrical collar based on a Take-Two share price of
2 Source:
3 Based on the trailing twelve-month period ended
4 Due to different fiscal year ends, appropriate modifications were made to calculate information based on Take-Two’s fiscal year end.
Approvals and Close Timing
The transaction, which is expected to be completed during the first quarter of Take-Two’s Fiscal Year 2023, ending
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Take-Two and Zynga Boards of Directors. Moreover, each director and executive officer of Take-Two and Zynga have entered into voting agreements to support the transaction.
Advisors
J.P. Morgan and
Transaction Conference Call and Supplemental Materials
Take-Two and Zynga will host a conference call today at
Operational Metric – Net Bookings
Net Bookings is defined as the net amount of products and services sold digitally or sold-in physically during the period, and includes licensing fees, merchandise, in-game advertising, strategy guides and publisher incentives.
Non-GAAP Financial Measure
In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with
About
Headquartered in
About Zynga
Zynga is a global leader in interactive entertainment with a mission to connect the world through games. With massive global reach in more than 175 countries and regions, Zynga has a diverse portfolio of popular game franchises that have been downloaded more than four billion times on mobile including CSR Racing™, Empires & Puzzles™, FarmVille™, Golf Rival™, Hair Challenge™,
All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.
Additional Information About the Proposed Acquisition and Where to Find It
This communication relates to a proposed business combination of Take-Two and Zynga that will become the subject of a registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed by Take-Two with the
Participants in the Solicitation
Take-Two, Zynga and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in any solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed business combination. Information about Take-Two’s directors and executive officers is available in Take-Two’s proxy statement dated
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained herein which are not historical facts may be considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and may be identified by words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "projects," "seeks," “should,” "will," or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the proposed business combination of Take-Two and Zynga and the outlook for Take-Two’s or Zynga’s future business and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of Take-Two’s and Zynga’s respective management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may vary materially from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of risks and uncertainties including: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; the inability to obtain Take-Two’s or Zynga’s respective stockholder approval or the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the proposed combination, including receipt of regulatory approvals, on a timely basis or at all; risks that the proposed combination disrupts each company’s current plans and operations; the diversion of the attention of the respective management teams of Take-Two and Zynga from their respective ongoing business operations; the ability of either Take-Two, Zynga or the combined company to retain key personnel; the ability to realize the benefits of the proposed combination, including net bookings opportunities and cost synergies; the ability to successfully integrate Zynga’s business with Take-Two’s business or to integrate the businesses within the anticipated timeframe; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Take-Two, Zynga or others following announcement of the proposed combination; the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to the proposed combination; the uncertainty of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken in response thereto; the effect of economic, market or business conditions, including competition, consumer demand and the discretionary spending patterns of customers, or changes in such conditions, have on Take-Two’s, Zynga’s and the combined company’s operations, revenue, cash flow, operating expenses, employee hiring and retention, relationships with business partners, the development, launch or monetization of games and other products, and customer engagement, retention and growth; the risks of conducting Take-Two’s and Zynga’s business internationally; the impact of changes in interest rates by the
Other important factors and information are contained in Take-Two’s and Zynga’s most recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, including the risks summarized in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” Take-Two’s and Zynga’s most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and each company’s other periodic filings with the
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TAKE-TWO:
(Investor Relations)
Senior Vice President
Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
(646) 536-3005
[email protected]
(
Vice President
(646) 536-2983
[email protected]
ZYNGA:
(Investor Relations)
Vice President
Investor Relations & Corporate Finance
[email protected]
(
Director
Communications
[email protected]
Source: Take-Two Interactive