Electronic Arts prepares US 1 billion loan for Take-Two acquisition

Electronic Arts may be not desperate in acquiring Take-Two, but they're already preparing for the big acquisition if in case it goes through. In fact, EA just recently secured a US 1 billion loan for additional funding that will be used if ever the merger will push through on or before January 2009.

The current deal of US 25.74 per share still stands, but for Take-Two Interactive, that amount isn't enough considering the success of Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3).

Apparently, EA managed to get their funding from several banks, which include the Morgan Stanley Bank, the Bank of Nova Scotia, KeyBank National Association, and others. The funds are meant "to provide a portion of the funds for the Offer and/or the Merger," according to EA.

Could this be another way of pressuring the Grand Theft Auto 4 publisher into accepting EA's deal? The clock's ticking, and it's slowly ticking down towards January 2009.