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Things are tough all over. Despite being branded as a "recession proof" industry, the publicly traded stocks of video game publishers dropped like a rock today, following news that the US House of Representatives had rejected a $700 billion bail out for failing financial services. More »
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So Electronic Arts buying Take-Two Interactive is no longer a going concern, and as our interest in the story wanes, so do stock prices for the two companies. Both stocks are taking hits on the North American stock exchange this morning. EA started off taking a more substantial hit of 2.7%, but prices have risen during the morning as people realize that hey, it's still EA. As of right now shares are currently trading at $44.34, a drop of 1.44% over the previous close. More »
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Two of Take-Two Interactive's biggest investors, Oppenheimer Funds and FMR LLC, drastically cut their shares in the company, Reuters reports, a sign of "shareholder unrest" that could be bad news for company management. After a rejected buyout offer from EA was made public, it helped boost the Grand Theft Auto publisher's stock price nine points in one day, making for some assuredly pleased stockholders. But now that Take-Two management have claimed the buyout terms "undervalue" the company, shareholders may be unwilling to wait for a dip in their investment. More »
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No legal action is recommended against publisher THQ, following an investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission into some of their stock option practices. The investigation began back in August 2006, when the SEC requested all documents and materials pertaining to the practices, dating back to 1996. THQ was already in the process of conducting a voluntary internal review, and says that their independent investigation, which concluded January 2007, showed no evidence of fraud or misconduct. THQ was just one of 60 companies being investigated, including Activision and Take-Two. More »
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On Friday, shares of Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) were trading for $17.36 a share as of market closing. Then over the weekend EA made its bid for Take-Two public, releasing details of a proposed buyout at $26 a share to various news outlets including Kotaku, even going as far as to open a website dedicated to their proposal. Well surprise, surprise, this morning TTWO opened at $25.75 a share - 47% above the last closing. Shares are going fast too, with massive chunks being sold off at a time. Over the past 3 months the average trade volume for the stock has been around 1.8 million a day. As of this writing, 12.5 million shares have already changed hands. So what does this mean? Stockholders believe this buyout will happen. So do arbitrageurs - companies that buy up huge amounts of stock for the chance at making small yet high volume profits. In other words, these companies believe so strongly that the $26 a share offer will go through that they are willing to buy up huge amounts for the chance at making $.25 profit a share. I dunno folks, this looks like it could very well happen. Hold me. More »
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The Securities and Exchange Commission is thinking of filing charges against Take-Two Interactive in connection to the company's stock option practices. The former CEO and chairman of Take-Two pled guilty in February to "first-degree falsification of business records" for backdating stock options in an illegal manner and was ordered to pay a restitution of $7.2 million; in July, two more senior executives pled guilty in connection with the same stock options shenanigans. Take-Two received a "Wells" call from the SEC's enforcement division, notifying them the division will be asking the Commission to file charges. Whoops. More »
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Previously, we reported that Microsoft's Robbie Bach unloaded $6.2 million in company stock between May 2 and May 30th (right before the July 5th announcement of Xbox 360's warranty extension). That number was and is still completely accurate. More »
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For the gamers who also have an eye on their portfolio, investing in gaming-related stocks is probably not the best gamble right now. Long term prognosis is good, but CNN Money reports on an analyst's thoughts on 'interactive entertainment' industry right now, and it's probably not the best option to beef up your portfolio. An exception is for some companies like EA, but in case you needed to be told, don't put any money in Take-Two. More »
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Along with animation and cartoon assets, the Chinese government is trying to give the game industry a boost by launching asset trading on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange (SUAEE) (in partnership with China's National Center for Animation, Cartoon and Game Industry). Things kicked off on Thursday, 28 June with thirty items were listed, mostly animated and folklore properties (perhaps some of the classic cartoon versions of 西遊記 Journey to the West?) More »
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One of the things we never expected to see from Infinium Labs is shady business practices. More »
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Damn! Should have shorted Take-Two Interactive! More »
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Usually we don't write about the business aspects of the video game business. Bow-ring! But this time of year stories about investment opportunities in the new year can't be avoided. Normally, I wouldn't invest my own money in gaming stocks — most of them are dogs. But I've come across a bunch of stories in recent days that recommend some of the stronger companies in anticipation of the buying spree usually brought on by the introduction of a new generation of consoles. More »
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Reuters reports that EA will be "well below" estimates for the December quarter. EA Chief Exec Larry Probst told Reuters, "For the December quarter, it is likely the industry will be down double digits on a percentage basis." However, all of this gloom and doom financial talk shouldn't concern anyone too much. I think, if nothing else, people are being careful with their cash and waiting to see what the next generation of consoles is going to offer us. But, if PS3 ships next holiday season (as people expect) - we'll probably see more shortages and overall sales could still be low. More »
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