EA again extends Take-Two deadline

NEW YORK -- Video game publisher Electronic Arts has for a third time extended the deadline for its $2 billion tender offer to buy smaller rival Take-Two Interactive Software, but it did not raise the price as many analysts had expected.

As of Friday, about 6.2 million shares had been tendered, representing about 8% of Take-Two's outstanding shares. This is slightly below the roughly 6.4 million shares that had been tendered as of April 17, the day before EA last extended the deadline.

EA said the latest extension allows the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust review of the proposed acquisition to continue.

New York-based Take-Two is best known for its Grand Theft Auto series of games. The latest installment of the popular franchise sold 6 million copies worldwide in its first week on sale, bringing in more than $500 million and making it the most lucrative video game launch in history.

Take-Two said the GTA IV launch, as well as a recently announced movie deal for its critically acclaimed BioShock game, shows the company is worth more money than what EA is offering. EA, meanwhile, says its offer already takes the success of GTA IV into account.

Earlier this month, EA, whose games include the Madden NFL football franchise and The Sims, gave an outlook below Wall Street's expectations for the current fiscal year, suggesting it could use Take-Two's titles to boost its performance.

Take-Two urged shareholders to reject the offer.

"The small number of shares tendered into EA's offer to date demonstrates that our stockholders agree with what our board has maintained from the beginning: EA's proposal undervalues our company," said Chief Executive Ben Feder in a statement.