{"id":233946,"date":"2010-01-26T14:21:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-26T19:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/industry-gossip-time-warner-to-buy-take-two-rumor-recently-made-the-rounds-2010-1"},"modified":"2010-01-26T14:21:00","modified_gmt":"2010-01-26T19:21:00","slug":"did-carl-icahn-float-those-time-warner-take-two-merger-rumors-ttwo-twx-atvi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/233946","title":{"rendered":"Did Carl Icahn Float Those Time Warner-Take Two Merger Rumors? (TTWO, TWX, ATVI)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"carl<\/p>\n

Rumors of a Time Warner (TWX) takeover bid for game developer Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) rippled through the industry a few weeks ago, according to an industry source we spoke with.<\/p>\n

Nothing came of it, and the scuttlebutt now is that the rumors (which had Time-Warner offering a $14.50 per share) were floated by Carl Icahn (who owns 11% of Take-Two<\/a>) and other large investors who are looking to sell the struggling developer.<\/p>\n

Take-Two has had a hard time remaining profitable, despite some lucrative games, most notably Grand Theft Auto. It was the target of a takeover bid from EA (ERTS) in 2008<\/a> at a now dreamlike $26+ per share.  In hindsight, Take-Two’s decision to reject this bid was catastrophic.<\/p>\n

Take-Two remains an attractive target<\/a>, but its problem, our source says, is that there is “no natural buyer”.<\/p>\n

EA is unlikely to try again, and Activision (ATVI) has publicly stated that it isn’t interested in buying a company that hasn’t demonstrated consistent profitability. A larger company looking to break into the industry, such as Time Warner, or perhaps News Corp (NWS), could be the answer.<\/p>\n

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