Activision looked at topping Take-Two’s $12.7 billion offer for Zynga, but sold to Microsoft instead



The Microsoft logo is on a phone that has a display of the Activision Blizzard logo.

A person familiar with the matter said that the financial firm that was contacted by the company was working on topping Take-Two's acquisition of Zynga.

A person who asked not to be named because the presentation was private said that the company reached out to a financial adviser to make a presentation to its board about topping Take-Two's bid. The person said that the presentation was made last week.

If the deal fell through, it was not clear if the company would use the game company, Zynga. A person familiar with the matter says Goldman Sachs called Activision as part of its go-shop process. The person who asked not to be named because the discussions are private said that bankers were prevented from knowing that the company was about to be sold to Microsoft.

Take-Two has a condition that allows other companies to top the $12.7 billion offer. Take-Two must be paid $400 million if there is a different bid. It would be expensive for any company to top Take-Two's offer, which was a 64% premium to the closing price of Zynga the day before the deal was announced.

A spokesman for the company wasn't immediately available for comment.

An analyst says that the Microsoft deal to buy the company will likely go through.