EA/Take Two deadline passes

The deadline for EA’s tender bid for Take Two has passed without incident for the second time in a row.

Analysts are now predicting that EA will have to draw a ‘new line in the sand’ when it comes to the deal – and announce a fresh deadline today.

Take-Two shares closed down seven cents at $26.40 yesterday, while Electronic Arts closed up seven cents at $47.06.

"Once they get the Federal Trade Commission approval, I believe [EA] will evaluate the marketplace and potentially raise the bid slightly," Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia told the New York Post.

EA’s $2 billion tender offer was set to expire yesterday – and company CEO John Riccitiello needed to convince at least 51 per cent of Take Two investors to sell up.

The current $25.74 per share bid (around $2.1 billion) has already been amended once, but Take Two executive chairman Strauss Zelnick is still encouraging investors to hold out.

Take-Two has already shipped over 11 million copies of Grand Theft Auto IV.