Take-Two Can Survive as an Independent

Take-Two’s executive chairman Strauss Zelnick has explained that in his view the consolidation in the industry will move forward, but Take-Two will survive.

(There are two times when consolidation typically occurs: when an industry is growing rapidly or declining,) Zelnick told Variety. (We’re growing and so I do believe we’ll see continued consolidation. But we are a very strong company. This isn’t about majors vs. independents. Take-Two is hardly a boutique firm.

Zelnick also elaborated on the reasons Take-Two rejected EA’s bid for the publisher.

(The timing of this deal is wrong and the value remains insufficient… The timing is out of our control now that it’s in the public eye, but the fact remains that the value is woefully inadequate.

(Of course, as a public company one has an obligation to talk to legitimate interested parties at any time, but once the offer goes public, the tenor changes. We’ve seen what is on the table and we have already rejected it. There’s not much else for us to do right now but listen to our shareholders and the market.)

Meanwhile some rumours surfaced here, indicating EA might also be looking at Ubisoft.