Quote:

 

Square Enix bids for Eidos
By Alex Sassoon Coby, GameSpot UKPosted Feb 12, 2009 3:39 am PT
Tomb Raider publisher's board accepts £84.3 million offer, unanimously recommends deal to shareholders.

The identity of the company with which Eidos Interactive--formerly known as SCi Entertainment--entered takeover talks in January has been revealed. Today, the board of the beleaguered publisher revealed that it has come to an agreement with none other than Japanese role-playing game giant Square Enix.

Talking about the deal, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada said: "Eidos' products are highly complementary to our business and will accelerate our aggressive expansion into Western markets." In the announcement of the offer, the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Hitman, Thief, Championship Manager, and Just Cause franchises were called out as being among "the world's leading video game properties."

The Japanese publisher's offer of £84.3 million ($120 million) is being unanimously recommended to Eidos shareholders by the firm's board. That total represents an offer of 32 pence ($0.46) per share, which is more than triple the company's value when the approach was made, and double its share price when the London Stock Exchange closed yesterday. Since the announcement this morning, Eidos shares have climbed further, peaking at 31.25p ($0.45)--a 123 percent rise from the opening bell.

The announcement follows the news in January, shortly before Eidos announced that it had received and was considering a takeover approach, that sales of Tomb Raider Underworld had failed to meet expectations. Last year, the company shed 20 percent of its workforce, and its CEO admitted that the company needed "immediate change" to deliver appropriate returns to its investors.

Square Enix has been looking for acquisition targets to expand its global reach for some time, with Wada saying that his firm was "talking with quite a few companies in and outside of Japan," with a view to acquisitions. The move follows the Japanese publishing house's unsuccessful $200m move for Tecmo, and comes as its own share price is in the doldrums, nearing a six-year low. The company also released its delayed revised financial projections for the current financial year, downgrading its expected net income by 62.5 percent, blaming conditions in the arcade and offline gaming segments of its business.

Spong

Feb 15 2009, 04:43 AM

I'd question the popularity of Kingdom Hearts, it's very much a cult game. I'm a big fan of SquEnix (well, Squaresoft anyway, I've never been keen on Enix), but along with a lot of other fans, I've always hated the Kingdom Hearts games. They're just watered-down RPG hybrids aimed at children that cash in on other far more popular franchises. Actually, I blame a lot of SquEnix's output going downhill in the last few years on the merger. Since Sqauresoft and Enix teamed up, Enix has done nothing but dilute Square's pool of imagination. Final Fantasy has become stagnant as a result of that.

But I think the SquEnix buyout of Eidos is fantastic news as far as the Tomb Raider franchise goes. I for one can't wait to see what, if anything, they do with the IP. But I'm guessing the only change we'll really notice is the removal of the poisonous Eidos logo from the box of the next game. Realistically, I don't even think Crystal will be dropped as the developer (though I wish they were).

I don't want to see another TR game for at least three or four years though. I hope to God that, whatever they do, they don't rush it. But, SquEnix are well-known for taking their time. Release dates mean nothing to them (outside of Japan anyway).

Spong

Feb 15 2009, 04:43 AM

...But I'm guessing the only change we'll really notice is the removal of the poisonous Eidos logo from the box of the next game....

Why the hatred for Eidos (And no, I am not instigating a nasty debate).

You seemed content on their forum at one point and although I know nothing (and don't wish to know anything), about the circumstances regarding your status on said forum, I do question your use of words when discussing the company.

They may have arguably failed us where TR is concerned but to infer that they are "Poisonous" or indeed their logo is somewhat unprofessional from a moderator.

Just my opinion.