San Mateo (CA) - Electronics Arts has extended its $2 billion hostile bid for Take-Two Interactive, the makers of the immensely popular Grand Theft Auto games. According to EA, the new extension gives Federal Trade Commission officials time to review the proposed merger for any anti-trust issues. This is EA’s third extension of the takeover offer.

The whole takeover saga started back in February when EA offered $25 a share. Take-Two’s board rejected the offer and EA publically increased the offer to $26/share a few days later. At the time, Take-Two shares were trading at approximately $17/share and as you can imagine share prices shot through the roof. So far approximately 6.1 million shares (8% of outstanding shares) have been tendered to EA.

Take-Two has repeatedly said that the price does not reflect the company’s current value.