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 This is a very interesting article that was posted on CNN.com back on March 9th. I wonder what the future will hold for some of our favorite sports games?
"SAN FRANCISCO (CNNMoney.com) -- When shareholders of Take Two Interactive Software convene March 23 for their annual meeting, they're going to see a fight - and possibly the beginning of the end for the company.
If you haven't heard, investors owning some 46 percent of the game publisher's shares are looking to take over the board and kick current CEO Paul Eibeler to the curb. The move comes after years of scandals and allegations ranging from backdated options to overstated revenue to hidden sexual content in its most popular game: "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."
Game industry insiders at the Game Developer Conference here who are familiar with Take Two (Charts) but asked not to be named because of ongoing relationships with the company said they expect the shareholder action to be successful - and that could lead to some dramatic changes. What those changes might be is a matter of debate. Some think a sale of the company is a possibility, while others believe a new board might sell off underperforming units to concentrate on Take Two's core strengths. "Take Two's stock is a troubled bag now for two reasons: One, there's a high concentration of ownership in a very small number of hands - and at last report, nearly 30 million shares are short," said John Taylor, an analyst for Arcadia (who also owns shares of Take Two). "So you have a tug of war between two muscular groups. One is made up of people who think the worst is yet to come. The other is made up of a small number of increasingly activist shareholders. "It would not surprise me is this had some kind of pile-on effect with people getting behind the activists to squeeze the shorts." As for potential buyers, the list is long. Game publishers UbiSoft and Activision (Charts) have reportedly explored a possible bid. Elevation Partners, the venture capital group whose members include U2 front man Bono, is a possibility as well. And Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (Charts). has also been mentioned regularly as a possible suitor." FULL ARTICLE FROM CNN.COM HERE
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