GTA publisher buys Zynga, a huge mobile studio with 40m daily users

pcgamesn.com:

Take-Two Interactive has completed its acquisition of mobile studio Zynga in a massive $12.7 billion deal following shareholder approval for the GTA publisher to purchase all outstanding shares of the company, via Gamesindustry.biz. With an average of 40 million active monthly users during the first quarter of the year across Zynga’s properties, which include popular social games such as Words With Friends and Farmville, the acquisition gives Rockstar Games’ parent company a big step into the mobile marketplace.

The deal, announced in January, is the second largest acquisition in videogame history, being eclipsed only by the recent announcement of Microsoft’s intent to purchase Activision Blizzard for $70 billion. Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick called the deal “a pivotal step” in the firm’s plans to expand its reach into the mobile gaming market, saying that “we believe that we can take our portfolio to another level of creativity, innovation, and quality.”

Alongside its biggest hitters in Farmville and Words With Friends, Zynga is also developing the upcoming mobile title Star Wars: Hunters, which is set to release later this year on mobile platforms.

As part of the original acquisition announcement, Take-Two also established its T2 Mobile Games brand, which will operate under Zynga following the acquisition. This is scheduled to be overseen by current Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau and president of publishing Bernard Kim, although Kim is due to depart the company at the end of May. Current Zynga stockholders will receive $3.50 USD and 0.0406 shares in Take-Two stock for every share held in Zynga stock.

Back in 2016, Activision Blizzard closed the deal on acquiring Candy Crush maker and mobile gaming giant King.