Take Two shares will plummet without us, warns Riccitiello

CEO of Electronic Arts John Riccitiello has cautioned Take Two’s Board against trying to dissuade its stakeholders from accepting EA’s ‘hostile’ offer for the firm – warning that the move could have a devastating effect on the publisher’s shares.

Take Two yesterday urged its shareholders to ‘take no action’ over EA’s tender bid for the firm – which saw the mega-publisher offer individual investors $26 per share.

"If we don’t conclude this transaction, if we walk because of whatever level of inability to get this done, the scary thing is what the stock trades at after we leave, not after 29 April [GTA’s release date]," Riccitiello told the BBC.

In response to a question about what EA would do should Rockstar staff leave, Riccitiello added: "There is no doubt that EA is several times larger than Take Two – everyday somebody walks in and somebody walks out.

"If the wrong guy walks out, we have an issue to deal with. But we don’t stop making games."