DealBook: Electronic Arts Offers $2 Billion for Take-Two

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Edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES | Monday, February 25, 2008 M & A: Getty Images to Sell Itself for $2.4 Billion BANKING: UBS Denies Report on Chairman's Term PRIVATE EQUITY: New Threat to Clear Channel Unit Sale HEDGE FUNDS: Citi Hedge Funds Get Credit Line OFFERINGS: Visa Offering Could Set U.S. Record VENTURE CAPITAL: Glam Raises $85 Million in Funding LEGAL: NatWest Three Sentenced in Enron Fraud TOP STORY Electronic Arts Offers $2 Billion for Take-Two Electronic Arts' $2 billion unsolicited bid for rival Take-Two Interactive, publisher of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, could continue a wave of consolidation in the rapidly growing video-game industry. But there are potential roadblocks ahead: Take-Two has already rejected the approach, saying it "provides insufficient value to our shareholders and comes at absolutely the wrong time." John Riccitiello, Electronic Arts' chief executive, will likely be spending the next few weeks trying to persuade Take-Two's investors to accept the deal and to convince Take-Two's employees that Electronic Arts will respect the creative autonomy of its various development teams, The New York Times wrote. Go to Article from The New York Times» Herb Greenberg, writing on his MarketBlog, notes that just a few weeks ago, Take-Two proposed bigger bonuses and other perks for ZelnickMedia, whose top executives run the company. The perks included restricted stock that may vest immediately if Take-Two is acquired. Go to Article from Herb Greenberg's MarketBlog» Read More Add a comment ADVERTISEMENT Back to Top MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Getty Images, the pictures and video distributor, agreed Monday to sell itself to the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for $2.4 billion including debt. Go to Getty Images Press Release via Business Wire» Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment The president of Microsoft's platform and services division sent a 1,816-word memorandum to his team about what the software giant's strategy is in pursuing Yahoo and what it will do if and when it succeeds. Go to Item from DealBook» Go to Memo on Microsoft's Web site» Read More Add a comment If Microsoft thinks this is the right time to make a major deal, it shouldn't pursue Yahoo, Randall Stross writes in The New York Times: It might instead consider bulking up its business software unit by buying SAP. Go to Article from The New York Times» Go to Related Article from CNet News.com» Read More Add a comment United Airlines is pondering its strategic options as stalled talks between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines threaten other linkups, including a potential tie-up between the Chicago-based carrier and Continental Airlines, The Chicago Tribune reported. Go to Article from The Chicago Tribune» Go to Previous Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment Royal Bank of Canada has won one of Canada's last remaining independent money managers with a 1.36 billion Canadian dollar ($1.35 billion) takeover bid for Phillips Hager & North Investment Management. Go to Article from The Globe and Mail» Read More Add a comment Cablevision has been quietly working with Bear Stearns on ways to enhance shareholder value, including putting a value on its Rainbow Media unit ahead of a possible sale and drawing up a list of targets for potential acquisitions, according to The New York Post. Go to Article from The New York Post» Read More Add a comment CHC Helicopter agreed to a $1.5 billion sale to First Reserve in what the companies described as the largest-ever oil-field services buyout. Go to Article from The Associated Press via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment A deal between Chicago giant CME Group and The New York Mercantile Exchange to create a $40 billion futures trading powerhouse could be formally announced by early March, The New York Post reported. Go to Article from The New York Post» Read More Add a comment Coca-Cola said on Friday it would continue to make acquisitions, but they were not necessary for the world's largest soft drink maker to meet its long-term growth objectives, Reuters reported. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment EMC's acquisition of Pi, a small Seattle start-up, shows it's serious about pursuing cloud computing, according to DealBook colleague Steve Lohr at Bits. Go to Item from Bits» Read More Add a comment Motorola's choice for its next chief financial officer seems to clear the path for a split of the cellphone giant, an analyst from Lehman Brothers wrote. Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment As Temasek Holdings, a decades-old, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, expands outward with its increasingly robust checkbook, it is discovering that investment decisions can have serious, sometimes dramatic and occasionally unforeseen regional and gepolitical implications, The Deal.com says. Go to Article from The Deal.com» Read More Add a comment Shares in Biffa fell more than 6 percent Monday after the company disclosed that all but one bidder for the business had dropped out. Go to Article from The Associated Press via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment China's increasingly aggressive sovereign wealth fund is poised to unleash a $10 billion investment spree in Japan and is initially expected to set its sights on the energy sector, The Times of London reported. Go to Article from the Times of London» Go to Article from Bloomberg News» Read More Add a comment Aon said Friday that it has agreed to acquire Arthur J. Gallagher's U.S. and United Kingdom reinsurance brokerage operations for $30 million in cash, plus an additional sum based on the performance of the businesses in the coming year. Go to Article from The Chicago Tribune» Read More Add a comment Back to Top INVESTMENT BANKING UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, on Sunday denied a newspaper report that its chairman, Marcel Ospel, would definitely leave after another year at the helm, but reiterated that his future after this period was undecided. Go to Article from Reuters» Go to Previous Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment HSH Nordbank, a state-controlled German bank, said Sunday that it planned to sue the Swiss bank UBS over a portfolio of complex debt products, which it contends that UBS improperly sold and mismanaged. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Last week's decision in the Seventh Circuit is the one of the most significant in years concerning the liability of investment banks to their clients for issuing fairness opinions, The Deal Professor wrote. Go to Item from The Deal Professor» Read More Add a comment Royal Bank of Scotland shares jumped more than 5 percent on Monday on hope that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund could take a stake and the expectation it will lift its dividend and post strong results this week. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Countrywide Financial, the besieged mortgage lender, has canceled a gathering of bankers from smaller mortgage banks at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch ski resort (where room rates begin at $725), Countrywide said in a statement on Sunday. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Back to Top PRIVATE EQUITY Clear Channel's $1.2 billion sale of its television unit to Providence Equity Partners is in jeopardy as Wachovia, one of the banks providing financing for the buyout, is refusing to commit. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment GMAC, the financial-services company controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, agreed late Thursday to loan up to $750 million to Residential Capital, its troubled mortgage operation. Standard & Poor's responded by downgrading GMAC to a B+ credit rating and ResCap to a B. Go to Item from DealBook» Go to Residential Capital Filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission» Go to Article from Bloomberg News» Go to Article from Reuters» Read More Add a comment Three suitors vying for Morgan Stanley's stake in China International Capital Corporation have cut the value of their offers, The Wall Street Journal reported. Go to Article from Reuters» Read More Add a comment Back to Top HEDGE FUNDS Citigroup said on Friday that it had provided a $500 million line of credit to its Falcon multistrategy fixed-income hedge funds, and as a result will move the funds' $10 billion of assets and liabilities onto its balance sheet. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Back to Top I.P.O. / OFFERING Visa said its proposed stock sale could raise nearly $18.8 billion, which would make it the largest initial public offering in United States history. In an updated regulatory filing Monday, the credit-card giant said it would sell as many as 446.6 million shares for an expected $37 to $42 per share. Go to Article from Reuters» Go to Prospectus via the Securities and Exchange Commisssion» Read More Add a comment Brinks Company, which has been under pressure from activist investors, said Monday it would spin off its home security unit into a separate traded company, Reuters reported. Go to Article from Reuters» Read More Add a comment The Nasdaq Stock Market announced Thursday that it would propose new rules permitting special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, to list on its market. The Deal Professor takes a look at the potential ramifications. Go to Item from The Deal Professor» Read More Add a comment Major contractor China Railway Construction has cut the size of its initial public offering in Shanghai amid signs a slew of new shares entering the market is overwhelming investor demand. Go to Article from The Associated Press via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Back to Top VENTURE CAPITAL Glam Media, a network of fashion, style and entertainment Web sites, said Monday it raised $65 million in new venture funding and $20 million in "revenue-based debt financing." Hubert Burda Media, a German publishing group, led the latest financing round. Go to Article from VentureBeat» Go to Press Release from Glam Media via PRNewswire» Read More Add a comment Philanthropies, discovering that for-profit status and financing can be a useful tool, are changing their spots and making use of some of capitalism's virtues, The New York Times reports. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Microsoft has created a $3 million fund to invest in applications built for its HealthVault electronic medical records platform, the company announced Sunday at the start of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 2008 annual conference in Orlando, Fla. Go to Article from CNet News.com» Read More Add a comment London's DN Capital has provided $1.5 million in Series A funding to iFamily, a New York start-up whose Familybuilder application seeks to update the Web genealogy market by tapping into the power of social networks. Go to Article from The Deal.com» Read More Add a comment Back to Top LEGAL Three British bankers were sentenced on Friday to 37 months in prison each for their role in an Enron-related fraud. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Ambac Financial Group, the embattled bond insurance company, plans to split itself in two in a bid to safeguard its top credit ratings and avert losses on securities that it guarantees for big banks, The New York Times reported. The company also hopes to raise $3 billion to bolster its finances. Go to Article from The New York Times» Go to Related Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment E. Stanley O'Neal, Charles O. Prince III and Countrywide Financial's Angelo Mozilo will testify next week before a Congressional committee examining the link between executive pay and the mortgage crisis. Go to Article from CNN Money» Go to Previous Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment The Vanguard Group, a fund manager known for its low-cost portfolios, surprised the industry on Friday when it announced that its chief executive, John J. Brennan, would step down. Go to Article from reuters via Teh New York Times» Read More Add a comment As losses from bad mortgages and mortgage-backed securities climb past $200 billion, talk among banking executives for an epic government rescue plan is suddenly coming into fashion, according to The New York Times. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Two former executives of Marsh, the insurance broker, were convicted Friday on an antitrust charge involving a bid-rigging case brought by New York State prosecutors. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Get home delivery of The New York Times for as low as $3.15 a week.

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