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Games
Take Two Takes A Hit
Rachel Rosmarin, 12.11.06, 1:35 PM ET






Burlingame, Calif. -

Videogame publisher Take Two Interactive will need to restate some of its financial records, the company said Monday.

The company, best known for its wildly successful and controversial Grand Theft Auto series of games, said a six-month internal probe into a chronology of stock options grants found “improprieties,” among statements from 1997 to 2006. Those years correspond with the launch of the Grand Theft Auto games.

Take Two (nasdaq: TTWO - news - people ) didn't detail the scope of the restatements, and wouldn't estimate the size of the charges it will ultimately have to record to make up for the incorrect statements. The company said its probe found no misconduct among the company’s current executive team, including chief executive Paul Eibeler and chief financial officer Karl Winters. Ryan Brant, Take Two's former chairman and chief executive, resigned on Oct. 17, citing medical reasons.

The internal probe is independent of another ongoing investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission; the company says the internal probe caused it to postpone the filing of its third-quarter earnings report. This delay has prompted numerous delisting warnings from the Nasdaq, though on Monday Take Two said it recently met with representatives from the exchange and expects to remain listed.

Take Two isn’t the only video game company affected by a stock options probe--THQ (nasdaq: THQI - news - people ) said on Nov. 22 that it faced delisting from the Nasdaq due to delayed earnings statements.

Take Two’s stock price remains largely unaffected by the probe’s results--it is down 1.7% to $19.75 after a five month run that saw the stock double in price. Investors are largely optimistic as they await the launch of Take Two’s next Grand Theft Auto installment some time in 2007.

The company is working with more than 150 developers for GTA IV, according to Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey, who wrote to investors that the team is “fully capable of ushering in an entertainment experience categorically superior to the prior cycle’s GTA product.”




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Companies: TTWO | THQI

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