EA has successfully beat out Take-Two in doing so.
EA will acquire racing game developer Codemasters after submitting a $1.2 billion USD bid for the company that bests a $1 billion offer by Take-Two.
The companies expect the acquisition will be “completed in the first quarter of calendar 2021,” according to a press release from EA.
In the statement, EA said “the combination of EA and Codemasters will enable further growth and success for Codemasters and EA’s popular and innovative racing franchises.” Said franchises include EA’s Need for Speed and Real Racing alongside Codemasters’ F1, DiRT, DiRT Rally, Grid and Project CARS.
“Electronic Arts and Codemasters have a shared ambition to lead the video game racing category,” said Gerhard Florin, the Chairman of Codemasters. “The Board of Codemasters firmly believes the company would benefit from EA’s knowledge, resources and extensive global scale – both overall and specifically within the racing sector. 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.”
Take-Two’s initial bid of $1 billion USD was also approved by Codemasters’ board, but was ultimately bested by EA’s last-minute offer.
“We believe there is a deeply compelling opportunity in bringing together Codemasters and Electronic Arts to create amazing and innovative new racing games for fans,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “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. We are pleased that both our Boards of Directors are recommending this transaction, and we look forward to welcoming such an exciting and talented team to the Electronic Arts family.”
Codemasters’ CEO, CFO and senior executive management team “intend to remain with Codemasters following the completion of the acquisition and will continue to lead the Codemasters business with EA’s organisation.”
What do you make of the acquisition?
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