Germany says Electronic Arts and Take Two Merger is OK

Electronic Arts' bid to acquire (or merge with) GTA IV publisher, Take-Two Interactive, took another twist EA gaining acceptance of its $25.74 (£12.75) bid from the German anti-trust authorities.

"In addition to our filing under the HSR Act^* with the DOJ (Department of Justice) and FTC (Federal Trade Commission), on March 25, 2008, Purchaser ( EA08 Acquisition Corp) made a pre-merger filing with the German competition authorities. On April 24, 2008, Purchaser was notified by the German Federal Cartel Office that the proposed transaction had been cleared."

We're not entirely sure why EA08 Acquisition Corp - the subsidiary of Electronic Arts set up specifically to deal with the Take-Two bid - might need to go to Germany rather than the European Union for a 'yes'. Still, it's (yawn) still intriguing to see that with the May 16th deadline for its offer looming, EA remains in the game.

Take-Two's stock latest closing price on the NASDAQ was $26.20 (£13) up six cents on its opening price. Electronic Arts closed at $51.53 (£25.75), up four cents.

^{* Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements
Source: Take-Two}