Riccitiello warns Take-Two investors of "scary" stock consequences of EA pulling out of bid

EA CEO John Riccitiello has issued a stark warning to Take-Two investors a day after making a $2 billion tender bid for the publisher, saying that the affect on Take-Two's stock could be dramatic if the takeover attempt comes to a sticky end.

"If we don't conclude this transaction, if we walk because of whatever level of inability to get this done, the scary thing is what the stock trades at after we leave, not after 29 April," he said, making reference to GTA IV's global release date.

Take-Two's stocked soared after EA made its intentions on the publisher public, rising almost 50 percent to just under $26 per share on February 25.

Riccitiello reiterated his assertion that Rockstar was the driving factor behind the deal, not the sports segment, as many analysts have said.

"The big headline here is that our primary interest is in Rockstar and the intellectual properties around Rockstar," he said. "Sports games are secondary consideration here."

EA has deadlined its latest offer on the company - at $26 per share - as April 11, with April 10 seeing Take-Two's AGM.