FYI: TTWO down as much as 12 percent this morning. Ryan Brant, if you're reading this from your 45-foot luxury yacht - you suck! A former chariman, banned from holding an exec position, gets to head 2K games (with a salary of 4x of the CEO). How good of a job do you think he was gonna do? You think he was a "hands-on" guy?
--Article paste:
SAN DIEGO (MarketWatch) -- This is pretty much what you need to know about this market, especially on the last day of a quarter for a company that has a history of controversy: A rumor-mongering service reported that Take-Two Interactive was the subject of takeover speculation.
As word spread, the stock (TTWO, Trade) lifted as much as 8%. After the close, the company itself lowered the boom: That financial results for this year and next will be worse than expected.
That should be no surprise, considering Take-Two has missed earnings and lowered guidance for multiple quarters. The company now expects earnings for the fiscal year ended October 31 to be a range of 53 cents to 56 cents per share, or more than 60% percent lower than the company was touting earlier this year.
Ironically, some of the worst performance at Take-Two has recently come from group run by Ryan Brant, former chairman, who was demoted to publishing director of 2K games; the change was made after regulators clamped down on the company and Brant was banned from holding an executive position with a public company for a number of years.
Why is that ironic? Because based on the most recent fiscal 2004 proxy statement, with compensation and bonuses last year of $2.3 million, Brant last year earned nearly quadruple the compensation of president chief executive Paul Eibeler.
But not to worry: In a press release Eibeler says the company remains "optimistic about Take-Two's overall prospects and the favorable dynamics of our industry."
Now, there's a ringing endorsement if I've ever seen one.
Moral of the story: Beware of quarter-end takeover rumors.
--Article paste:
SAN DIEGO (MarketWatch) -- This is pretty much what you need to know about this market, especially on the last day of a quarter for a company that has a history of controversy: A rumor-mongering service reported that Take-Two Interactive was the subject of takeover speculation.
As word spread, the stock (TTWO, Trade) lifted as much as 8%. After the close, the company itself lowered the boom: That financial results for this year and next will be worse than expected.
That should be no surprise, considering Take-Two has missed earnings and lowered guidance for multiple quarters. The company now expects earnings for the fiscal year ended October 31 to be a range of 53 cents to 56 cents per share, or more than 60% percent lower than the company was touting earlier this year.
Ironically, some of the worst performance at Take-Two has recently come from group run by Ryan Brant, former chairman, who was demoted to publishing director of 2K games; the change was made after regulators clamped down on the company and Brant was banned from holding an executive position with a public company for a number of years.
Why is that ironic? Because based on the most recent fiscal 2004 proxy statement, with compensation and bonuses last year of $2.3 million, Brant last year earned nearly quadruple the compensation of president chief executive Paul Eibeler.
But not to worry: In a press release Eibeler says the company remains "optimistic about Take-Two's overall prospects and the favorable dynamics of our industry."
Now, there's a ringing endorsement if I've ever seen one.
Moral of the story: Beware of quarter-end takeover rumors.
