For some folks, love don't cost a thing.  For Take-Two, they're going to want quite a bit more than the $25.74 USD per share price being offered by rival Electronic Arts in its ongoing attempt to buy out the publisher.  What effect did last night's expiry of the $2 billion USD buyout bid have on EA's resolve?  Not much, as EA simply extended the deadline by one month to this July 18th.

Take-Two remains unimpressed with EA's price, which it believes makes light of its true worth.  The company continues to urge shareholders not to be lured by EA's cash offer and keep a firm grasp on their shares.  Thus far approximately 6.13 million outstanding shares (around 7.9 percent of Take-Two's total) have been tendered into EA's offer during the last four weeks, which is slightly less than the 6.21 million shares tendered the month before.  Take-Two meanwhile has given up on exploring some alternative courses of action, probably designed to give EA one in the eye as the publisher is ever hopeful of maximizing its shareholder value.  Does it have to leverage to do so now that the buzz surrounding Grand Theft Auto IV's release is cooling down?

In the meantime, the publisher has also been looking for ways around a pre-emptive anti-trust inquiry manned by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission itself.  For its efforts, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is calling for a hearing scheduled for next week concerning Take-Two's refusal to provide further details to the FTC.