• CNNMoney.com, Wednesday, March 21, 2007 10:45 AM

Take Two Interactive, publisher of the wildly popular "Grand Theft Auto" video game series, has said it would explore a sale days after shareholders said they would stage a board takeover in order to oust company CEO Paul Eibeler. The move, organized 12 days ago by shareholders owning 46 percent of the company's stock, comes after years of scandals, including backdated options, overstated revenue and hidden sexual content in its games. If no sale is organized, video game insiders said Take Two might spin off properties. These include "Grand Theft Auto" publisher Rockstar Games (the one it would most likely keep), 2K Sports, 2K Games and Global Star Software.

John Taylor, an industry analyst and Take Two shareholder, said a high concentration of ownership in a small number of hands and the fact that "nearly 30 million shares are short" has resulted in a tug of war between two groups. Those who believe the worst is coming and a small group of active shareholders. The legal problems are the most important to sort out.

Fortunately, there are potential buyers. Game publishers UbiSoft and Activision have expressed interest in the past; several reports list News Corp. as a possible suitor, as well as Elevation Partners, a venture capital group fronted by U2 singer Bono.

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