Codemasters, which makes F1 and Dirt racing games, says Take-Two made a non-binding offer to acquire it for around $960M
Shakeel Hashim / Protocol :
Context & Ripple Effects
This disclosure is the opening move of what became a bidding war over one of the few studios holding major racing licenses: days after this non-binding offer went public, Take-Two and Codemasters signed an agreed $956M cash-and-stock deal, only for EA to counter weeks later with a $1.2B bid that topped Take-Two.
The buyer-seller dynamic has history: Take-Two itself once rebuffed a $2B acquisition approach from EA before going on its own buying run, from Social Point to Zynga — so both publishers know exactly what it means to be on either side of a takeover table.
First-order effects
- Codemasters' board and shareholders gain a concrete takeout price at roughly $960M to evaluate against standalone prospects, while Take-Two moves toward adding the F1 and Dirt franchises to its portfolio.
Second-order effects
- A completed deal would leave EA without the studio behind F1, pressuring it to respond — which it ultimately did by outbidding Take-Two rather than ceding the racing catalog.
Third-order effects
- Publishers treating scarce licensed racing IP as must-own assets sets up competitive bidding rather than quiet consolidation, raising exit valuations for any remaining independent studio holding a marquee license.
The trend: Major publishers are competing outright for independent studios with locked-up sports licenses, turning single-studio acquisitions into bidding contests between rivals.