While the news that EA was pulling out of its acquisition bid for Take-Two (2K) was a little surprising, it wasn’t unexpected, but it seems as though 2K shareholders were caught unawares. 2K’s share price has been humming around the $25/$26 mark for a while, spiking up to around $27 per share following the release of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Now, after the talks between EA and 2K broke down, 2K’s share price has fallen to around $16, a drop of over 20%, which is, coincidently, around about equal to the share price before EA began its acquisition campaign, revealing that 2K shareholders were quite eager for the company to reach an agreement with EA.

We are probably yet to see the fallout from this debacle, as it’s possible shareholders will take legal action against 2K for their inability to secure a deal.