Take-Two Interactive finally taken over by shareholders

Remember Take-Two Interactive‘s shareholders plan to take over the reins of the struggling video game publisher? Well, they finally did control the boardroom – last night. According to reports, the take over happened during Take-Two’s annual meeting at the Hotel Gansevoort, and the action was quite swift and decisive.

The investors who are not so keen on former CEO Paul Eibeler‘s way of managing and handling the company installed Benjamin Feder as the acting chief executive officer. Strauss Zelnick, likewise, was installed chairman. These shareholders actually control almost 50% of Take-Two’s stock and that is why they were able to pull this stunt.

Anyway, it seems that the latest development was favored by the so-called big Benjamin players as the publisher’s regular NASDAQ trading immediately rose by US$ 0.24 ending at US$ 21.10. More remarkably, Take-Two’s shares also rose from US$ 1.36 to US$ 22.46 during last night’s extended trading.

The new chairman, Zelnick, said that one of the things that needs to be done first is to look for a permanent CEO, and CFO Karl Winters will keep his post for now. And then he added, “The first goal is to get to know the company and its employees, to reassure people and create value for shareholders.”

Strauss Zelnick used to head Bertelsmann AG’s BMG music company and video game developer Crystal Dynamics Inc. He currently  takes charge of New York-based investment firm Zelnick Media. Other newly installed directors include Michael Dornemann, Jon Moses, and Michael Sheresky.

Lastly, the reports added that Eibeler and his companions tried to look for a last-minute buyer in favor of them but to no avail.

Remember Take-Two Interactive‘s shareholders plan to take over the reins of the struggling video game publisher? Well, they finally did control the boardroom – last night. According to reports, the take over happened during Take-Two’s annual meeting at the Hotel Gansevoort, and the action was quite swift and decisive.

The investors who are not so keen on former CEO Paul Eibeler‘s way of managing and handling the company installed Benjamin Feder as the acting chief executive officer. Strauss Zelnick, likewise, was installed chairman. These shareholders actually control almost 50% of Take-Two’s stock and that is why they were able to pull this stunt.

Anyway, it seems that the latest development was favored by the so-called big Benjamin players as the publisher’s regular NASDAQ trading immediately rose by US$ 0.24 ending at US$ 21.10. More remarkably, Take-Two’s shares also rose from US$ 1.36 to US$ 22.46 during last night’s extended trading.

The new chairman, Zelnick, said that one of the things that needs to be done first is to look for a permanent CEO, and CFO Karl Winters will keep his post for now. And then he added, “The first goal is to get to know the company and its employees, to reassure people and create value for shareholders.”

Strauss Zelnick used to head Bertelsmann AG’s BMG music company and video game developer Crystal Dynamics Inc. He currently  takes charge of New York-based investment firm Zelnick Media. Other newly installed directors include Michael Dornemann, Jon Moses, and Michael Sheresky.

Lastly, the reports added that Eibeler and his companions tried to look for a last-minute buyer in favor of them but to no avail.