Gaming Games giant Electronic Arts gatecrashes £725m Codemasters takeover [Update: EA reached agreement to acquire Codemasters]

tom_mai78101

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The American computer games giant Electronic Arts (EA) has gatecrashed the £725m takeover of Codemasters, the London-listed producer of some of the world's most popular motor racing titles.

Sky News has learnt that EA has tabled a potentially knockout bid for Codemasters, trumping an offer agreed last month with Take-Two Interactive Software, maker of the Red Dead franchise.

A gaming industry source said this weekend that EA was working with bankers at UBS on its offer.

The interest from EA, which has a market value of almost $40bn (£30bn), is likely to be disclosed to the stock market on Monday morning.

EA is among the world's biggest computer games developers, and is best-known for its FIFA-licensed football titles, as well as games based on the Harry Potter books and Star Wars films.

 
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tom_mai78101

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For context on what the "gatecrashing" is:

jonhiseler said:
Codemasters had made a deal with Take Two Interactive last month to be purchased, but now EA has come along and made what is presumably a superior offer.
 

tom_mai78101

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Electronic Arts Reaches Agreement for Recommended Acquisition of Codemasters Group Holdings PLC

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announced that it has reached an agreement with the Board of Codemasters for the recommended acquisition of Codemasters, the UK-based game developer and publisher. In the transaction, Codemasters' shareholders will be entitled to receive 604 pence (approximately US$7.98*) in cash for each ordinary share of Codemasters with an implied enterprise value of US$1.2 billion*. The acquisition is anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of calendar 2021.

“Electronic Arts and Codemasters have a shared ambition to lead the video game racing category. The Board of Codemasters firmly believes the company would benefit from EA’s knowledge, resources and extensive global scale – both overall and specifically within the racing sector. We feel this union would provide an exciting and prosperous future for Codemasters, allowing our teams to create, launch and service bigger and better games to an extremely passionate audience,” said Gerhard Florin, the Chairman of Codemasters.

“We believe there is a deeply compelling opportunity in bringing together Codemasters and Electronic Arts to create amazing and innovative new racing games for fans. Our industry is growing, the racing category is growing, and together we will be positioned to lead in a new era of racing entertainment. We have admired Codemasters’ creative talent and high-quality games for many years. With the full leverage of EA’s technology, platform expertise, and global reach, this combination will allow us to grow our existing franchises and deliver more industry-defining racing experiences to a global fan base. We are pleased that both our Boards of Directors are recommending this transaction, and we look forward to welcoming such an exciting and talented team to the Electronic Arts family,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts.

Read more here. (Business Wire)
 

Varine

And as the moon rises, we shall prepare for war
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I thought Codemasters tanked a while ago, I haven't heard that name in like ten years.
 
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