Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick.

JUNE 10, 2008 • While Take-Two Interactive’s board of directors holds out for a better cash offer from Electronic Arts, Forbes magazine speculated that the former is negotiating with another takeover suitor: Ubisoft. During a June 5 financial conference call, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick admitted he had held discussions with other interested parties. Ubisoft declined to comment.

Impact: Ubisoft has a better reputation for working with acquired studios than EA, and Take-Two would nicely fit in with Ubisoft’s current product mix without much overlap. What’s more, Ubisoft would get one of the few successful sports game operations in 2K Sports, while denying EA the opportunity to cherry pick sports franchises and snuff out the rest. Then again, Zelnick may really just be fishing for a higher price in the end from EA.