Publisher Take-Two Interactive had earlier announced that it is acquiring DiRT and F1 game developer Codemasters for $980M however it was later outbid by EA that offered $1.2 billion to purchase Codemasters. Instead of increasing its offer, Take-Two Interactive has announced that it is withdrawing its offer to purchase Codemasters and hence making EA the clear winner and the new owner of Codemasters. EA’s offer to acquire Codemasters was accepted back in December 2020.
Business Wire details:
As noted in the Scheme Document (the “Scheme Document”) dated November 30, 2020, Take-Two was entitled to lapse the offer if the Court Meeting and General Meeting were not held on or before the 22nd day after the expected date of such Meetings set out in the Scheme Document. The expected date of such Codemasters’ Shareholder Meetings set out in the Scheme Document was December 21, 2020, and the 22nd day after such date was January 12, 2021. Codemasters’ Shareholder Meetings were not held on or before January 12, 2021 and Take-Two has not extended this date. As a result, the Co-operation Agreement has automatically terminated in accordance with its terms.
With the new ruling, EA will now completely acquire Codemasters during the first quarter of 2021. Codemasters is best known as the developer behind the DiRT franchise and the F1 races. Last year, Codemasters also acquired the license for the WRC franchise and also acquired Slightly Mad Studios who is the developer of the Project Cars series. At this point, Codemasters is perhaps the most important developer when it comes to racing games as it owns some of the best franchises under its umbrella.
If you leave DiRT, WRC, F1, and GRID out of the line, we have Need for Speed and Forza left in the whole racing genre, and with NFS already owned by EA, EA is going to dominate the racing video game genre with this acquisition. However, we will have to wait and see whether EA continues the current lineup of titles offered by Codemasters or will it shut down franchises and use the workforce for its own titles.
What do you think about EA acquiring the racing game giant Codemasters? Let us know in the comments section below.
