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.

288 Comments

  • TehEliteElite

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 9:05 am PT

    MegandDia128, you are an idiot. Have you ever HEARD of Deus Ex? A far better RPG than most of the **** Square churns out. I like Square, but they make bad games along with the good ones. As for Eidos not being able to make RPG's? Don't talk about things you unless you actually KNOW something about the subject.

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Apr 10, 2009 9:16 am PT

    Yeah, they'd better not touch Deus-Ex 3!!!

  • LocustWarlord

    Posted Apr 10, 2009 8:02 am PT

    as long as deus ex 3 is as good as the first deus ex. i dont care

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Apr 10, 2009 6:05 am PT

    Oh please no! I smell 'Tomb raider Gundam', 'Hitman Star Hybrid Laser Killer' and other mind numbing Japanese influenced coin collecting, FMV filled Turn based garbage!

  • nickboy333

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 8:50 am PT

    As long as the japs dont get to make the game and give freedom to the subdivision Im fine.

  • vdiv2003

    Posted Mar 2, 2009 10:48 am PT

    I dont care what happens as long as Deus Ex 3 comes out soon and live up to the serries. and MegandDia128 Hitman was a good game if you like that game type. also I have no idea what games Square Enix has made...never heard of 'em.

  • MegandDia128

    Posted Feb 25, 2009 11:16 pm PT

    The games that Eidos make will stain Square Enix's good name. Hitman and games like that just don't fit Square at all. Square Is RPG, not shooter, Not Action/ Adventure. Will This affect Square and eventually lead them into making crappy games like Hitman. sigh this is said really sad

  • MegandDia128

    Posted Feb 25, 2009 11:11 pm PT

    Seriously I am a Square Enix fan (sorry Eidos Fans) Eidos can kiss my butt. so does that mean the Square will be responsible for making games like Kane & Lynch or Hitman both of those games suck bad. they are so Anti-RPG. I don't really want to see Square make any other games other than RPG cause that is the only kind of game that fits them.

  • Lightning09

    Posted Feb 19, 2009 12:59 am PT

    When I first heard about this I thought they Square and Eidos had already merged but that was as RedMMIV mentioned only a partnership with the PCs versions of FFVII & VIII. I don't see any problem of the merger at the moment as they have worked together in the past to bring games to more than just Playstation in the past.

  • Mudvayne84

    Posted Feb 18, 2009 10:37 am PT

    Why are some people saying "YAY TOMB RAIDER RPG!!" Thats a freaking abomination.... would completely take out the 3rd person view action part of the series

  • TehUndeadHorror

    Posted Feb 18, 2009 1:39 am PT

    It's cool that Square Enix is doing this but I liked it better when they just made Japanese JRPGs cause that's what they were brilliant at.

  • Fady117

    Posted Feb 16, 2009 12:26 am PT

    Looking forward to this move. I wish the two titans would blend together into one monolithic games colossus. Imagine Lara Croft RPG or even Hitman RPG or, better, Final Fantasy mixed with manually oriented combat systems. Hopefully this is just business, and no games or franchises o either side will face extinction.

  • Archpimp

    Posted Feb 15, 2009 10:05 am PT

    New Thief game? I sure hope so... I have a fever and the only only prescription is a steam punk sneaker.

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Feb 15, 2009 4:54 am PT

    i don't get this. squeenix will now be the saviour of a troubled eidos? but squeenix can't even save itself? it's going be like the blind leading the blind. i see fail written all over this.

  • leshatton

    Posted Feb 14, 2009 4:38 am PT

    I want JustCause2 NOW god damn it! Is there any news on this game anywhere? i cant find anything about it.

  • razgriz_101

    Posted Feb 14, 2009 3:32 am PT

    Kinda makes sense im sure Square had partnerships with Eidos years ago even publishing FF7 for the PC.

    Might possibly mean they would have teams here to localise games possiby meaning it would be faster. thats more a pipedream though.

  • Shayde_Shadow

    Posted Feb 14, 2009 2:11 am PT

    Good news for both companies. But I want a new Gex The Gekko game Eidos!

  • bennae66

    Posted Feb 14, 2009 1:12 am PT

    i like square. kinda sick of eidos tho. mind you deus ex and thief strike a chord with me.... but thats about it

  • ffviiifreak

    Posted Feb 13, 2009 9:38 pm PT

    I see lot things saying they really don't want western expansion and I agree because I personally believe that they are doing this to bail out an old friend of squaresoft cause if you remember they worked together way back when.

  • metalisticpain

    Posted Feb 13, 2009 7:59 pm PT

    I like Square Enix, so i hope they can boost edios franchises and breath some life into them

Deus Ex Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Downloads | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum

advertisement
advertisement
Click Here
Deus Ex Boxshot
Deus Ex

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    1,317 of 78,695
    (down by 88)
    PC Rank:
    466 of 12,636
    Tracking:
    2,519 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    318 Wish It»
  • Player Reviews:
    196
    Player Ratings:
    4897
    Users Now Playing:
    482
  • Number of Players:

    1 Player

  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. deus ex
    2. ion storm
    3. fps
    4. rpg
    5. eidos
  • Mature Rating Description

    Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement