Posted on Thursday, February 12 2009 @ 21:35 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Japanese game publisher Square Enix
has made a £84.3 million (approx. $120 million) bid on Eidos, the developer of Tomb Raider. The company expects to complete the Eidos offer by the end of April.
The company will offer 32 pence a share for Eidos, Tokyo- based Square Enix, creator of the “Dragon Quest” series of role-playing games, said today. That’s more than double the 14 pence closing price yesterday for London-based Eidos, which surged to 31.75 pence after the announcement.
Publishers such as Square Enix and Namco Bandai Holdings Inc. rely on hit titles to bolster sales and recoup development costs. Square Enix is seeking more games after forecasting full- year profit will fall 51 percent to 4.5 billion yen ($50 million) because of a delay in the release of the newest installment of “Dragon Quest” for Nintendo Co.’s DS player.
Eidos has a “broad portfolio of highly successful mass market franchises, led by Tomb Raider,” Square Enix President Yoichi Wada said in a statement. “We believe that wide range of both companies’ quality products encompassing major genres will enable us to meet diversified customers’ expectations.”
