Electronic Arts is targeting Take Two’s shareholders with a tender offer to acquire outstanding stock for $26 each – the price it offered the company in its buyout bid last month.

The cash bid is worth $2 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal , ‘the move signals that EA's attempt to gain control of Take-Two, publisher of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto game, is turning hostile’.

Take Two temporarily traded above the $26 a share that EA originally offered, but its share price later dipped below the price. Its stock traded at 4 pm yesterday at $24.91, up 26 cents, on the Nasdaq.

Take Two has consistently rejected EA’s $1.9 billion offer as undervalued and ill-timed. Chairman Strauss Zelnick has since shown a keen interest in keeping the company independent.

The publisher announced yesterday that the Grand Theft Auto series had sold more than 66 million copies in its history.

"We believe Take-Two investors will see our tender offer as the best way to maximize the value of their investment in Take Two. This tender offer provides a clear process to complete the proposed transaction," said John Riccitiello, EA's chief executive.