Earlier this year, Electronic Arts were mad for Take-Two. Mad. Looked like a takeover was inevitable. Yet we enter 2009 with Take-Two an independent company. How the hell did that happen?

It happened partly because Take-Two spent a ton of money to keep EA's hungry wolves at bay. How much money?

According to a Securities and Exchange Comission filing from last week, it was in the region of $11.1 million dollars, which was spent on things like a "strategic review process" and...getting boss Strauss Zelnick on the cover of Men's Fitness.

Would you try and takeover a company whose boss had body that ripped? No, no you would not.

Take-Two reveals EA bid cost, earnings breakdown [GameSpot]

Send an email to the author of this post at plunkett@kotaku.com.