The world of corporate mergers and acquisitions isn't exactly known as the most action-packed, white-knuckle-inducing enviornment. I'm sure that it's stressful for those whose jobs and liveihoods depend on every stock, share, or what-have-you. But for those of us on the outside, it's just more paper pushing.

Case in point: the proposed merger (read: hostile takeover) of EA and Take-Two. In case you haven't been paying close attention, here's the recap: EA wants to buy out Take-Two for a price of just over $2 billion. T2's board responds by saying the offer is too low, and encourages their shareholders to reject the bid. The first deadline that EA imposed on the offer was extended, and the offer continued to be rejected. Repeat that cycle two or three times and you'll get the idea. EA really wants T2, and T2 really either doesn't want to sell, or doesn't want to get low-balled.

While all this is going on, T2 released a little game you may have heard of called Grand Theft Auto IV, which went ahead and made $500 million (or 25% of EA's offer) in just its first week.

So here we are, in the middle of another (a.k.a. the FOURTH) EA deadline extension with no further interest from T2. In fact, T2's Chairman of the Board Strauss Zelnick recently made a statement on the constantly changing deadline:

"The latest extension of EA's unsolicited, highly conditional tender offer does not alter the fact that their proposal still significantly undervalues Take-Two... Our Board of Directors remains in unanimous agreement that the proposal is contrary to the best interests of Take-Two stockholders, and the Board continues to recommend that stockholders not tender their shares to EA. The Board remains focused on the strategic process that began formally on April 30 to consider all alternatives to maximize value. We believe that these alternatives, which may include a business combination or remaining independent, will deliver greater value to stockholders than the current EA offer."

And T2's CEO Ben Ferder took things a step further adding the more specific reference to his company's recent blockbuster success:

"Take-Two's vast potential to create and enhance stockholder value has become even more evident in recent weeks, with the runaway success of Grand Theft Auto IV, a product pipeline that is one of the strongest and most creative in our history, and continued operational and financial progress."

So, in summation, EA is still salivating over Take-Two, and Take-Two is still convinced that they are all but insulted by the offer. Stay tuned as I'm sure we haven't seen the end of this nail-biting saga.

Related Articles:

Federal Trade Commission Looking into EA/Take-Two Merger

Take Two Encourages Shareholders to Reject EA's Bid

EA Proposes $2 Billion Acquisition Of Take Two