Take-Two Interactive and Zynga have entered into a agreement under which Take-Two will acquire all outstanding shares of Zynga in a cash and stock transaction valued at $9.861 per Zynga share, with a total enterprise value of approximately $12.7 billion.

This deal unifies two global leaders in the interactive entertainment business and establishes Take-Two as one of the largest, most diversified mobile game publishers in the industry, with $6.1 billion in pro-forma Net Bookings for the trailing 12-month period ending in Sept. 30.

“We are thrilled to announce our transformative transaction with Zynga, which significantly diversifies our business and establishes our leadership position in mobile, the fastest growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry,” says Strauss Zelnick, chairman and chief executive officer, Take-Two. “This strategic combination brings together our best-in-class console and PC franchises, with a market-leading, diversified mobile publishing platform that has a rich history of innovation and creativity. Zynga also has a highly talented and deeply experienced team, and we look forward to welcoming them into the Take-Two family in the coming months. As we combine our complementary businesses and operate at a much larger scale, we believe that we will deliver significant value to both sets of stockholders, including $100 million of annual cost synergies within the first two years post-closing and at least $500 million of annual Net Bookings opportunities over time.”

At the close of the transaction, Strauss Zelnick will continue to serve as chairman and chief executive officer, and the management team of Take-Two will continue to lead the combined company. Zynga's management team, led by Frank Gibeau and Zynga's president of publishing, Bernard Kim, will drive the strategic direction for Take-Two's mobile efforts and will oversee the integration and day-to-day operations of the combined Zynga and T2 Mobile Games business, which will operate under the Zynga brand as its own label within the company. Additionally, Take-Two will expand its board of directors to 10 members upon the closing of the transaction to add two members from Zynga’s board of directors.

The transaction, which is expected to be completed during the first quarter of Take-Two’s 2023 fiscal year, ending June 30, 2022, is subject to the approval of both Take-Two and Zynga stockholders.

“Combining Zynga’s expertise in mobile and next-generation platforms with Take-Two’s best-in-class capabilities and intellectual property will enable us to further advance our mission to connect the world through games while achieving significant growth and synergies together,” says Frank Gibeau, chief executive officer, Zynga. “I am proud of our team’s hard work to deliver a strong finish to 2021, with one of the best performances in Zynga’s history. We are incredibly excited to have found a partner in Take-Two that shares our commitment to investing in our players, amplifying our creative culture and generating more value for stockholders. With this transformative transaction, we begin a new journey that will allow us to create even better games, reach larger audiences and achieve significant growth as a leader in the next era of gaming.”