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World Business Quick Take

■GAMING

EA drops Take-Two bid

Shares of Take-Two Interactive plunged on Monday after Electronic Arts (EA) ended its seven-month pursuit of the maker of Grand Theft Auto. In midday trading in New York, Take-Two shares fell 23 percent to US$16.84. EA, the world’s largest video-game maker and publisher of titles such as The Sims, has been fighting to acquire Take-Two since February, when it offered to pay up to US$26 per share, or about US$2 billion. Take-Two rejected the advances, saying the offer undervalued the company and its expansion plans. However, the companies started formal talks last month, which EA ended on Sunday after deciding that it would not be able to integrate the company in time for the critical holiday shopping season.



■ELECTRONICS

Best Buy to buy Napster

Electronics chain Best Buy is to buy online music service Napster Inc for US$121 million in a move to expand the retailer’s digital music offerings, the companies said on Monday. Best Buy will pay US$2.65 a share for Napster, which has 700,000 subscribers to its digital entertainment services. The offer is almost double Napster’s closing price before the announcement of the deal. Napster also has US$67 million in the bank. Best Buy chief operating officer Brian Dunn said the deal would help boost the retailer’s online media operations. “Over time, we hope to strengthen our offerings to consumers, who we believe will increasingly seek devices and solutions that enable them to access their content wherever, whenever and however they want,” Dunn said.



■SEMICONDUCTORS

Intel launches six-core chip

Intel on Monday rolled out its first chip with six brains, unveiling a “multi-core” microprocessor that boosts computing muscle while cutting back on electricity use. The world’s leading computer chip maker’s new Xeon 7400 series microprocessor is tailored for businesses that want to boost server performance while conserving on space and energy. Intel executives say the Xeon 7400 is part of an “incremental migration” toward chips with limitless numbers of “cores” that seamlessly and efficiently share demanding computer processing tasks. Intel and rival Advanced Micro Devices have two-core and four-core chips on the market.



■ENERGY

Brazil declines OPEC invite

Brazil has declined a recent invitation from Saudi Arabia to join OPEC, citing plans to refine, not export, crude oil from its recently discovered deep water reserves, top energy officials said on Monday. Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao said Brazil determined it didn’t need the cartel, because it planned to boost oil income by refining crude into products like gasoline for export abroad, the state’s Agencia Brasil news agency reported. Paulo Roberto Costa, a top executive with Brazil’s state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA oil company, confirmed the government had decided not to join OPEC.



■BANKING

WaMu’s debt rating down

Standard & Poors (S&P) on Monday lowered its debt rating for the major West Coast bank Washington Mutual (WaMu), a week after Moody’s downgraded its debt to non-investment or “junk” status. S&P’s move further complicated plans to raise fresh capital for the troubled US bank, which has been ravaged by mortgage-related losses. WaMu’s long-term debt rating was lowered to “BB-” from “BBB-” by S&P.


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