It has been a wild ride since Take-Two, parent company of Rockstar and 2K Sports, had an initial $980m bid for Codemasters accepted.
Since then, gaming giant EA has swooped in with an enormous $1.2bn offer.
Now Take-Two has officially pulled its bid for the F1 game developer.
Take-Two no longer in the running
With a bigger offer on the table from a company with far deeper pockets, it looks like Take-Two is no longer in the running to buy up the British racing experts.
The company’s action is possible due to a clause which said it could pull its offer should Codemasters not hold a Shareholder Meeting related to the potential acquisition on or before January 12.
Codemasters' board had recommended the offer, but when a bigger bid from EA came in it withdrew the recommendation.
EA guaranteed to buy Codemasters?
It looks like EA is now definitely going to be snapping up Codies, but that isn't a guarantee.
Take-Two has not explicitly said it won't be back with another offer, however it does look like they have other targets in mind.
“Take-Two remains a highly disciplined organization and, with its strong balance sheet, will continue to pursue selectively organic and inorganic opportunities that are designed to enhance the Take-Two’s long-term growth and deliver results to its shareholders,” it said in a statement.
What this means for F1 2021
Codemasters' next big release is expected to be F1 2021. Anticipated for June/July 2021, the game is already well into its development cycle and is likely to be entirely unaffected by this takeover talk.
Future releases however, could be wildly different once Codemasters is under the EA umbrella.
When it comes to F1 2022 and beyond though, we could start to see things like Ultimate Team creep into the franchise.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
News