The acquisition deal between Take-Two Interactive and Codemasters is no more, as Electronic Arts has confirmed it has reached a new agreement with the British racing games giant to acquire it for a whopping $1.2 billion. The confirmation arrives soon after a report from yesterday that revealed EA"s interest in the company.
"We feel this union would provide an exciting and prosperous future for Codemasters, allowing our teams to create, launch and service bigger and better games to an extremely passionate audience", said Codemasters chairman Gerhard Florin regarding the acquisition.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson had this to add:
Our industry is growing, the racing category is growing, and together we will be positioned to lead in a new era of racing entertainment. We have admired Codemasters’ creative talent and high-quality games for many years. With the full leverage of EA’s technology, platform expertise, and global reach, this combination will allow us to grow our existing franchises and deliver more industry-defining racing experiences to a global fan base.
EA"s current racing portfolio, Need for Speed and Burnout, is centered around arcade open-world titles, while Codemasters has popular track and simulation racers under its umbrella such as DiRT, DiRT Rally, F1, Grid, and Project CARS.
The heads of Codemasters - CEO Frank Sagnier, CFO Rashid Varachia, as well as the senior executive management team - will remain and lead the company even after the EA acquisition. Much like the previous deal, this one is slated to complete in the first quarter of 2021.