The drama of Electronic Arts' desire to acquire Take-Two Interactive continues to unfold. Take-Two initially told EA that it would wait until after Grand Theft Auto IV's release to enter into serious acquisition talks. Today, GameIndustry.biz reports that EA "has filed a form with the SEC in which it agrees not to consummate the acquisition of Take-Two until the FTC [Federal Trade Commission] has closed its investigation or until 45 days have elapsed from the time that the company 'substantially complied' with the FTC's request for information."EA's offer expires on June 16. Since GTA IV's release, Take-Two has not shifted its stance in any capacity, though the company is slated to release its earnings tomorrow, June 5....

Last week Take Two Interactive held their annual stockholders meeting and an expected fight with shareholders over Electronic Arts' $26 a share buyout offer didn't materialize. So EA decided to extend a previously set deadline for their offer from April 18 all the way back to May 16. They also decided to reduce their per share offer down to $25.74 because of certain actions made at the Take Two shareholder meeting.So what does Take Two have to say about this? Not a lot more than what they already have said about the proposed EA buyout deal. In a new press release, Take Two execs said that the offer " . . .fails to compensate our stockholders for our exceptional portfolio of intellectual property, world-class creative resources, and our successful revitalization initiatives." They repeated their contention that a number of unnamed parties are interested in talking with Take Two but that those talks won't start until after April 30. Once again it seems like this battle of the game publishing titles will continue for at least another few weeks....

What a shocker (OK, not really but you get the idea). Electronic Arts got rebuffed by Take Two Interactive during Take Two's annual stockholders meeting on Thursday night (you can listen to the audio archive on Take Two's web site). Basically Take Two stood their ground against the EA $26 a share takeover offer, with company execs stating they believe Take Two is worth more than that and that they will be happy to entertain offers after April 30 (just after the launch, not so coincidentally, of their flagship game Grand Theft Auto IV which is expected to sell 6 million copies in just its first week). Indeed, Take Two execs claim that they have already had some interest in talking with unnamed third parties.All of that scuttlebutt has apparently made EA blink. The company had previously set a deadline of today for their $26 a share offer to Take Two but this morning EA announced that offer was being extended to May 16. The actual dollar ammount has dropped slightly to $25.74 a share which EA states is because of "additional shares to be issued to Zelnick Media" following the Take Two shareholder meeting. EA still believes that they have a fair offer and that over 6 million shares in Take Two stock have accepted EA's buyout plan. So we have at least another month of drama before things come to a head again....

Ahead of Take Two Interactive's annual stockholder meeting later night at 6:30 pm EST (you can listen in to the webcast at Take Two's web site) the publisher that's trying to buy Take Two got a notice from the federal government today. Electronic Arts has revealed that it has received a second request from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for more information on their proposed $26 a share takeover of Take Two.EA believes that their proposal does not qualify as being anti-competitive but it seems like the FTC isn't entirely convinced. Regardless, EA's offer is still on the table at Take Two with EA stating that their offer will end on Friday. Take Two has already mentioned that the company has not received any business proposals or recommendations for new board nominees ahead of the meeting which means that the EA take over bid might not even be discussed. We should know everything in a few hours....