Ubisoft in for Take Two?

Ubisoft is perfectly placed to snatch Take Two from under EA’s nose in a shock merger – and may well have a very keen eye on the publisher’s sports portfolio.

That’s according to respected business bible Forbes, which today fingered the French firm as a possible contender to EA in the race to acquire the Rockstar parent.

In the article, Forbes reports that ‘there’s a lot at Take Two that could dovetail with Ubisoft’s interests’ – not least GTA and Bioshock’s capability to work with Ubi’s continental, franchise-based and multimedia approach.

"Ubisoft has shown they do a good job of managing original intellectual property,” says Doug Creutz, analyst at San Francisco firm Cowen and Co.

Culturally, Take Two developers would not have a problem at Ubisoft because they allow a decent degree of creative freedom."

The magazine points to Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemont’s desire to expand the firms portfolio into sports – something he also revealed to MCV in our latest interview.

It also makes a big deal of Take Two chairman Strauss Zelnick’s reluctance to sell up to EA – and his admission that he is already speaking to other interested parties.

The article admits that ‘money could be a problem’ in terms of a full acquisition, with Ubisoft ‘only having about $235.8 million on hand’ – but says it’s ‘possible the two could merge.’

Ubisoft declined to comment on Forbes’ analysis.