Take-Two completes $12.7B acquisition of mobile games giant Zynga

techcrunch.com:

Take-Two has completed its $12.7 billion acquisition of mobile games giant Zynga, the company announced on Monday. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Zynga shareholders received $3.50 in cash and 0.0406 shares of Take-Two common stock per share of Zynga common stock. The deal, which was firstannounced in January, will bring Zynga’s popular games under Take-Two ownership, including “Farmville” and “Words With Friends.”

“We are thrilled to complete our combination with Zynga, which is a pivotal step to increase exponentially our Net Bookings from mobile, the fastest-growing segment in interactive entertainment, while also providing us with substantial cost synergies and revenue opportunities,” said Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick in a statement. “Each of our teams has a strong history of operational execution, and together, we expect that we will enhance our financial profile through greater scale and profitability, paving the way for us to deliver strong shareholder value.”

It was previously announced that Zelnick will lead the larger company with Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau. Zynga’s president of publishing, Bernard Kim, was supposed to work alongside Gibeau, but is leaving Zynga to become the CEO of Match Group at the end of this month.

“We are excited for Zynga’s next-generation mobile platform, free-to-play expertise, diverse offering of games and incredible team to join the Take-Two family,” said Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau. “We are eager to continue building an unparalleled portfolio of games that will reach broader markets and lead to continued growth for this next chapter of Zynga’s history.”

The acquisition brings together two gaming powerhouses, as Take-Two is known for console and PC games, while Zynga largely defined the