Sony kills rumor it is acquiring Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two

Take-Two Interactive’s stock price mysteriously rose 5 percent Wednesday on rumors that Sony was in advanced “board level” talks to buy the company for $130 a share. That would have amounted to a purchase price of $13.7 billion for the maker of blockbuster video games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2.

But a spokesperson for Sony said this morning that “we do not know where the rumor is coming from, but there is no such plan.” And a Take-Two spokesperson said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation. Sony’s comment is a rare denial of something that is outright false, and it nails the coffin on this rumor. Today, Take-Two’s stock price has fallen 3 percent to $93.16 a share.