Take-Two has sort of become the hot cheerleader everyone wants to take to the prom. Suddenly, everyone is talking about her, and at least one suitor has already made their intentions clear about wanting to sweep the little lady off her feet. However, much like that same cheerleader, Take-Two is playing coy, refusing to say yes, even pushing the potential date away in order to make herself even more enticing. And while star quarterback EA can’t figure out why Take-Two would even consider dating someone else, Forbes believes the potential usurper in this love nest is none other than slightly less-popular point guard Ubisoft.

Stupid high school analogies aside, Forbes is speculating that T2’s statement that they are talking to "other interested parties" means that they may be in serious discussions with Ubisoft. Activision has been ruled out due to their merger with Vivendi, and there don’t really seem to be any other publishers out there who could afford to make a play at Take-Two and who would significantly benefit from such a partnership.

One reason why Ubisoft is considered a potential buyer is the fact that Laurent Detoc, President for North America, stated recently that the company is moving away from solely working on games, and would like to branch out into brands across all forms of media. Considering the fact that BioShock is currently in the early stages of a movie deal, this sort of acquisition would fit squarely into the expansions Ubisoft is trying to fashion.

Back on the games front, Forbes speculates that the merger would give Ubisoft the sports division they’ve always wanted (in the form of Take-Two’s 2K Sports), as well as giving Rockstar, the true belle of the ball, the creative freedom they need to continue to flourish as a development studio.

Ultimately it’s all about expanding the brand, and Signal Hill Analyst Todd Greenwald believes that the only way for Ubisoft to continue to grow is to enter categories they don’t currently occupy. While the company has grown "phenomenally" over the past few years, the only way for them to keep up with giants like EA is to absorb other, already established companies.

The only major hurdle to such a deal is the fact that Ubisoft can’t match the offer already put forth by EA, so if the whole thing is purely about money then there’s no way they’ll be able to afford Take-Two. Furthermore, 17 percent of Ubisoft is currently owned by EA, so you can bet that chunk of shareholders will probably vote "Nay" anytime talk of a merger comes up.

As of yet, neither Ubisoft nor Take-Two have publicly disclosed that they are in negotiations, so we’ll all just have to sit tight and continue playing the waiting game until someone decides to spill the beans.