Grand Theft Auto publisher acquires Farmville creator Zynga for $12.7 billion

The biggest video game acquisition in history.

Take-Two, the publisher behind Grand Theft Auto, just bought mobile developer Zynga in what could be the biggest video game acquisition of all time.

According to the official  press release, Take-Two will acquire all outstanding shares of Zynga for roughly $12.7 billion. Though rather than a complete buyout, Zynga shareholders will receive $3.5 billion in cash along with $6.36 billion in Take-Two’s common stock. 

For comparison’s sake, this eclipses  Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda Game Works, which came in at $7.5 billion. Before this, the biggest video game purchase of all time was  Tencent picking up  Clash of Clans  mobile developer Supercell for $8.6 billion.

“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,” Zelnick said. “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’s best-known as the creator of Farmville, that browser-based phenomenon that everybody used to play on Facebook often. So Grand Theft Auto  and Farmville  are now owned by the same parent company. Funny how these things turn out. 

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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