Konami subsumes Hudson Soft

TOKYO--Expecting significant losses for the current fiscal year, Hudson Soft, the 33-year-old developer and publisher of the Bomberman franchise, will soon become a subsidiary of Konami. The company most recently forecast a 7.7 billion yen ($71 million) loss for the year ending March 31, 2005.

To help cushion the blow, Konami and Hudson issued a joint statement yesterday alerting the markets and investment community that on April 27 Konami would purchase an additional 3 million shares of Hudson stock. The purchase means Konami, already a significant investor in the publisher, will become the majority shareholder. The purchase will increase Konami's interest from 45 to 54 percent. Konami began buying shares of Hudson in 2001.

The stock acquisition will effectively put 1.4 billion yen ($13 million) into Hudson's coffers and will be used for a complete reorganization of the company. Hudson will become a full subsidiary of Konami when the stock purchase is completed.