£1bn bid war erupts over Codemasters

A TAKEOVER battle has erupted over Codemasters, sending its shares soaring nearly 23pc.

The British video games studio was previously on course to be sold to Take-Two Interactive for £759m, in a cash-and-shares proposal that had the support of the board.

But US group Electronic Arts (EA) has gate- crashed the deal with a £945m cash bid – and Codemasters announced it had switched horses to back the new offer.

It prompted speculation of a bidding war for the firm after Take-Two said it was ‘considering its position’, sending shares in Cambridge-based Codemasters surging 22.9pc to 656p.

Codemasters, one of Britain’s leading video games studios, makes racing games including the official Formula one titles and the Project Cars franchises. Its half-year revenues have doubled to £80m amid the pandemic. EA, best known for developing Fifa Soccer, said a tie-up presented a ‘deeply compelling opportunity to create amazing and innovative new racing games for fans’.

EA boss Andrew Wilson added: ‘ We have admired Codemasters’ creative talent and high- quality games for many years. With the full leverage of EA’s technology, platform expertise, and global reach, this combination will allow us to grow our existing franchises and deliver more industry-defining racing experiences to a global fan base.’

Gerhard Florin, chairman of Codemasters, added: ‘We feel this union would provide an exciting and prosperous future for Codemasters, allowing our teams to create, launch and service bigger and better games to an extremely passionate audience.’

EA, which is also behind Medal of honor, Need For Speed and the Battlefield game series, is one of the world’s biggest video games publishers with a value of £30bn. Like other games publishers, it has benefited from the surge in demand for home entertainment this year as the pandemic causes people to spend more time indoors.