March 20, 2007
Can Take Two avoid a shareholder takeover by arranging a quick sale to a friendly buyer?Not likely, according to several financial analysts.
A Reuters report mentions THQ and Ubisoft as potential suitors, adding that EA might be interested in the firm's 2K Sports subsidiary. GameSpot, meanwhile, interviewed Wedbush-Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, who said of a potential sale:
This is crazy... I can't see a sale happening, unless there is truly a 'greater fool' out there.
Nollenberger Capital Partners analyst Todd Greenwald told GameSpot:
Ubisoft might be able to pull it off. Other than that, Activision and Elevation Partners are the only other real possibilities I see. I don't see a News Corp. or Viacom going for it.
Greenwald saw any management change, whether by sale or shareholder revolt, as a plus:
Given their studios and franchises, Take-Two should be able to be a far more profitable company than it currently is.
Business Week weighs in with harsh criticism of T2's current management from Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner:
The stock surges when shareholders even hint that they'll replace the board - that's pretty damning. I'd like to see people who understand how to account transparently. I'd like to see a solid CFO and CEO of a financial mind, both of whom have high ethics backed up by people surrounding them on the board.
IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon was critical of Take Two's corporate culture:
There are people at the company - developers and marketers and other low-level executives - who are serious professionals. But the company's party atmosphere, the "Hot Coffee" thing, even the name Rockstar - it doesn't send off the appearance of sobriety. There's a topdown party attitude.
Comments
Inside info says R* is not as laid back as you might think...
@Parallax Abstraction:
Well, there is the money...
...but there is also IP and they don't come any bigger than the GTA franchise.
For the price they could get that IP, they would make WAY more money over the long term. Assuming it was properly managed, of course.
Oh gosh, an anecdote from some random guy. Bob Woodward, eat your heart out. I seem to have woken up to the realization today that the trade press is full of people with barely the intellect to breathe.
Go ahead and add Sun Microsystems and Symantec to the list too. I guess this fella doesn't work in many actual business environments.
Is this the sort of "analysis" that someone actually pays this nitwit actual money for?
Michael Pachter has been more wrong than any other analyst in the industry...
Todd Greenwald needs to check out the history of T2 and Ubi, and BTW, Ubi is half the size of T2...Elevation Partners was a nothing but a rumor, Activision loathes T2 and Rockstar...
David Gardner is a generalist and doesn't understand the gaming industry...
Billy Pidgeon is just an idiot, someone should ask him if he ever stepped a foot into a Rockstar studio or talked to anyone associated with T2 or Rockstar...
I think these opinions are the result of of watching Collins College Game Design commercials.
"I don’t know about you but recently I read an article on GameCareerGuide written by a programmer from RockStar and according to him they are allowed to drink beer at work. That is the first I ever heard of such a practice in any business environment."
It's a lot more common in the game development business, but it depends how big your company is. Some publishers do everything in their power to keep the developers happy.
I doubt they're getting drunk, it's probably just a cold one with lunch. ;)
Since when are MS bad publishers? They're probably one of the best out there at the moment.
Remember that Microsofts games division != thier corporate/OS divison.
Especially since he seems to conflate Take Two with Rockstar. For one thing, they aren't the same (although Rockstar is a subsidiary of Take Two), for another, I'm not even sure the current management of Take Two were the ones to name the company Rockstar. And anyway, changing the name at this point would be a rather dubious PR move, considering the level of name recognition Rockstar has achieved.
I hope they get this worked out if the corporate overlords get their claws in it it will be broken up and sold off. *shudders*
'There are people at the company - developers and marketers and other low-level executives - who are serious professionals. But the company’s party atmosphere, the “Hot Coffee” thing, even the name Rockstar - it doesn’t send off the appearance of sobriety. There’s a topdown party attitude.'
Does he have any reference to this or is this simply being pulled out of his rear end?