Analysts rubbish reports of $1.5bn bid for Take-Two

Rumours that Viacom is making a USD 1.5 billion bid to acquire Take-Two have been rubbished by leading industry analysts.

Original speculation by a UK trade publication that Viacom is offering USD 23 per share for the Oblivion and GTA publisher have proven ill-judged, with global media giant Reuters reporting no such offer is on the cards.

"This is very unlikely," said Evan Wilson of Pacific Crest Securities. "Videogames are a hot space and media companies are interested in participating in the growth, but for Viacom, they are pursuing a completely separate strategy."

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter also believes Viacom doesn't intend to jump into a new medium by making such a large acquisition. "I don't think any of those media companies has the appetite to get into a new business," he said.

Viacom does have interests in the videogame sector — chairman Sumner Redstone holds a majority stake in Midway Games, and the company recently announced a digital partnership with Microsoft.

Update:The original rumour stated Viacom was offering "GBP 23" per share, this has since been updated to USD 23.