Take-Two Interactive Software has recently discussed their first quarter financials with the public over a conference call. The company’s report states that it has a net revenue of $240.4 million during the first quarter and attributes these impressive revenue figures to the sales of big name games such as BioShock, Carnival Games, NBA 2k8, and the Grand Theft Auto series. The company does recognize that the first quarter posted a net loss of 38 million or $0.52 a share.

Also to note with the release is the announcement that Take-Two has acquired Illusion Softworks, the makers of many franchises, most notably, Mafia. The studio received a name change, 2k Czech and their first project is to make Mafia II for consoles such as the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.

Some good news to BioShock fans include the fact that 2k Marin is already working on BioShock 2 and is planning to release it during the fourth quarter of 2009. They also announced that Carnival Games: Mini-Golf will be developed exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.

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According to a Feb. 24th press release, EA is in serious talks to acquire Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc for a whopping $2.0 billion. The proposal would buyout all outstanding stocks in cash at a 64 percent premium equaling $26 per share. The public letter was brought forth after Take-Two’s Board of Directors rejected the proposal and according to EA’s CEO John Riccitiello, they where simply trying to make all of Take-Two stockholder’s aware of the company’s decision to deny the large sum of cash.

Mr. Riccitiello called for immediate action from Take-Two so the sale could go through and he warned that there would likely be no other offer presented to Take-Two that involved so much money and immediate profit for their stockholders like this deal would. He added that all of the staff at Take-Two would benefit from added financial resources, better management teams, and outstanding global publishing capabilities if the acquisition were to happen.

Although the proposal was formally offered to Take-Two’s CEO Strauss Zelnick on February 19th, EA decided to leave the proposal on the table for a while longer to allow the shareholder’s to play a role in the company’s decision. They are hoping that a timely sale could still allow for them to continue to market the current hit GTA IV and also provide ongoing support for all of the Take-Two titles scheduled to launch this year.