Eidos Buyout Saga Continues

Electronic Arts told GameSpot today that it is not currently involved in buyout negotiations with Eidos Interactive. David Gardner, general manager of EA Europe, denied the speculation by stating directly, "EA is not in discussions with Eidos and has not made an offer to buy the company."

Last week, EA was named as a suitor in the possible buyout of Eidos in the Financial Times. The publication cited company sources in stating that an EA-Eidos deal could arise to counteract a hostile takeover attempt by the French company Infogrames Entertainment.

On a related note, Reuters news service reported today that Infogrames will make an offer of 700p per share for Eidos stock, valuing the company at 720 million pounds (US$1.09 billion). The report further stated that it could take up to three weeks for the deal to be formally announced. Naturally, any such offer from Infogrames would be subject to approval from its board of directors. Eidos' stock is currently trading at approximately 535p per share in the London stock exchange.

When reached for comment regarding these latest reports on the buyout pricing of Eidos stock, an Infogrames spokesperson told GameSpot that the company does not comment on rumors. Officials at Eidos Europe, the primary source of corporate decision-making within the company, were not available for comment.