Rumor: EA Interested in THQ

According to Minyanville several companies are examining a possible takeover of THQ which has been struggling in recent years.  Chief among those companies is Electronic Arts with other possibilities mentioned being Time Warner and News Corp.  The big interest for EA would be the two significant licenses for the UFC and WWE that THQ holds. UFC 2009 Undisputed has almost single-handedly kept THQ afloat with its impressive sales this year and the WWE license has a lot of potential in the right hands. The THQ stock has been rising in anticipation of a takeover happening in the near future.

EA Sports MMA has been doing a decent job of signing fighters not affiliated with UFC however that game remains a tough sell competing directly against it.  The UFC license would obviously be an attractive acquisition and would eliminate any current competition in the genre. While this remains just a rumor at the moment it makes a lot of sense for EA to be interested given that they were unable to expand their portfolio with Take Two last year.