By
Rupert Steiner
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Game enthusiasts pose for photographs during the EA Play 2019 event on Jun. 8, 2019, in Los Angeles, California.
Getty Images
Computer games giant Electronics Arts has gate-crashed a $1 billion bid by “Grand Theft Auto” publisher
Take-Two Interactive
for U.K.-listed Codemasters with a $1.2 billion rival offer.
European computer games maker
Codemasters Group,
which specializes in car racing games, has backed Electronics Arts and slammed the brakes on its recommendation for the previous Take-Two offer.
The bid battle comes four months after Codemasters was tipped in
Barron’s as undervalued at 341 pence (455 cents). The shares closed at 642 pence on Monday and if readers had invested they would have seen a 88% increase on their holding.