Buyout posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Rumor: Warner Bros. wants Codemasters

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 23rd 2009 at 11:59PM }

It appears that Codemasters could become a paid-for adopted sibling in the Warner Bros. Interactive family, if a VG247 article is to be believed. Meanwhile, a follow-up report by GI.biz indicates that a Codemasters rep declined to comment, saying, "Everything is fine here." Indeed!

In some ways, we're surprised it took this long for the story to drop. After all, at this year's E3 all of Codemasters' titles were shown at the Warner Bros. booth. We've yet to hear back from Codemasters, but WBIE was kind enough to inform us that it doesn't "comment on rumors or speculation." Shame, really. We were hoping to hear "everything is fine" there too. If true, Warner Bros. is on the acquisition warpath, which it hasn't been shy about. The company currently has a $33 million bid out for Midway. Hey WBIE, what do you know about Joystiq Publishing ...

Square Enix and Eidos dropping Warner Bros. publishing

by Majed Athab { Jun 1st 2009 at 4:10PM }

Although the ink has dried on Square Enix's buyout of Eidos last month, there still remains a few issues to iron out before the handover is complete. One of these issues is the publishing rights of currently scheduled titles. Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mini Ninjas were originally under Warner Bros. Interactive before the takeover and will continue to go under that name; however, all future titles will return in-house.

Kane & Lynch 2 and Just Cause 2 can be counted among those titles donning the Square Enix logos, though thankfully the influence stops there as Eidos will continue to run as an independent company. Don't worry, Kane & Lynch will be androgyny-free.

Warner Bros. bids on Midway for some reason

by JC Fletcher { May 21st 2009 at 1:30PM }

When we read about Midway's recent troubles, we're glad we don't own any piece of the company. However, Warner Bros. executives see the same stories and think "we need that." Midway announced today that a "stalking horse" asset purchase agreement with Warner Bros. has commenced, with Warner bidding $33 million for the majority of Midway's assets, including studios in Chicago and Seattle, as well as the Mortal Kombat franchise.

According to Midway's press release, the agreement does not include rights to TNA wrestling games, nor Midway's San Diego and Newcastle studios.

This isn't a sure thing yet: before the Warner agreement goes through, other "qualified buyers" will be allowed to put in bids in a "court-supervised auction process."

Rumor: Warner Bros. hooked on Midway bait

by James Ransom-Wiley { Apr 24th 2009 at 6:40PM }

Just a week after casting itself into uncertain waters, Midway has reportedly gotten a bite -- er, been bitten by Warner Bros. Interactive. Now comes the hard part: reeling in the deal. After losing Eidos to Square Enix, Warner's got a grumbling in its tummy for cheap chow, and for a proposed $30 million, Midway is a relatively inexpensive meal for the big fish to swallow. Still, much of Midway is simply indigestible.

An anonymous source tells MCV, "Warner is pretty confident that they will get Midway ... They look ready to put the money on the table." Whether that money is the full $30 million or just a portion of the asking price (for specific IPs like Mortal Kombat, etc.) is allegedly keeping the deal on the line. Will it snap? Oh, the suspense!

Square Enix buyout of Eidos approved

by David Hinkle { Mar 27th 2009 at 1:00PM }

The Square Enix purchase of Eidos will go through, as 85% of the Eidos shareholders voted in favor (big surprise there) of their new overlords at a recent court hearing and passed the motion of acquisition at the EGM afterward. It is estimated that Square Enix will take over operating duties some time in late April, when it's assumed all of Eidos' shares will be delisted.

We imagine Square Enix's first order of business will be to start work on Final Fantasy X3: Lara's Shadow, in which Yuna, Rikku, and Lara work together to solve a mystery surrounding a sunken ship. Also, they try to find Tidus again.

Bases still loaded: Jaleco isn't dead

by JC Fletcher { Mar 25th 2009 at 11:00PM }

Jaleco hasn't left the game industry following its buyout by Game Yarou. In fact, it's going to be business as usual at the Jaleco offices, with the only difference being that hopefully there will be some business.

Gamasutra reports that under Game Yarou's ownership, Jaleco Limited will continue normal operation, and "operate its Tokyo office independently of Game Yarou." The Wii action RPG Ougon no Kizuna (official site here) is still in production and scheduled for a May 28 release in Japan.

Since the press release announcing the buyout specifically mentioned reasons why Jaleco was leaving the game industry, we suspect that this was more a change in plans than a simple miscommunication.

Namco Bandai now owns 95% of D3 Publisher

by Xav de Matos { Mar 18th 2009 at 1:00AM }

Namco Bandai has gobbled up 19,990 shares of D3 Publisher, giving them ownership of 95.02% of the company. Siliconera reports the house that Pacman built has purchased the majority of the company at a combined buyout value of 1,239,380,000 yen ($12.55 million). In mid February, Namco Bandai -- who at the time made deals with D3's board, resulting in a 70% ownership of the company -- announced plans to purchase the remaining 30% of D3 Publisher stock. The remaining shares were purchased at the originally announced offer of ¥62,000 (US$626) per share (which sounds crazy to us).

D3 Publisher owns the overseas rights to the Ben 10 franchise as well as the Vicious Engine, the back end that powered such PSP titles as Dead Head Fred and 300: March to Glory. D3 is also responsible for Dark Sector and the OneChanbara franchise. Can someone say "buyers remorse?"

Square Enix to buy out Eidos in May

by JC Fletcher { Mar 4th 2009 at 12:31PM }

Eidos and Square Enix have agreed upon terms for the proposed buyout of Eidos's share capital by the Japanese publisher. Eidos shareholders are "expected to approve the deal" later this month, according to MCV, which suggests that a growing number have seen the light (where "the light" means "Square Enix's books").

Bad news for those of you planning to buy Eidos stock for a friend as a birthday present next month: Eidos will suspend trading of its shares on April 21, with its listings to be taken down the next day, in anticipation of this deal. The companies are planning to have a settlement in place by May 6, at which point we assume Eidos staff will use the sudden windfall to upgrade their weapons and armor.

Square Enix acquires more Eidos stock

by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 24th 2009 at 10:00AM }

Square Enix is working its way around Eidos' sphere grid of stock holders and leveling up for, what appears to be, its inevitable takeover of the British publisher. GI.biz reports that two major Eidos investors have sold 11.13 percent of the publisher's total stock to the Moogle master at 32 pence a share.

Using fancy business language, Square Enix claims it has "irrevocable undertaking" of 32 percent to vote in favor of the acquisition. That may be the "irrevocable" figure, but we learned Squenix previously had about 45 percent -- chances are, that number has gone up. It appears that Square Enix will finally get that Western developer it's been craving for a while.

Growing number of Eidos shareholders support Square Enix buyout

by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 18th 2009 at 3:09PM }

The percentage keeps on growing as Eidos stockholders get in line to support a takeover by Square Enix. MCV reports that Pioneer Investment Management, a ten percent shareholder in the house of Hitman and Croft, is supporting the $120 million buyout.

Warner Bros., which controls 20 percent of the stock, has already agreed that a purchase by the powerhouse publisher of androgyny would be best for the ailing British company. Square Enix now has public approval from 45 percent of shareholder, and an Eidos vote on the acquisition will occur at the company board meeting in late March. Soon after, Agent 47 will prefer an over-sized sword to his Silverballers, and Lady Croft will wake up with a bad case of anime hair.

Namco Bandai announces intent to purchase D3 Publisher

by Randy Nelson { Feb 12th 2009 at 3:18PM }

It looks like even a crack squad of bikini-clad samurai won't be able to hold off an acquisition of D3 by fellow Japanese publisher Namco Bandai. That latter has revealed plans to effectively buy out D3 by purchasing all of its stock. Namco has already made deals with D3's board which have resulted in it obtaining a 70% stake in the company. It has offered to purchase the remaining 30% at a share price of ¥62,000 (US$686)

In a press release announcing the proposed buyout, Namco notes that D3 would benefit from Bandai's reach into other mediums (toys, TV, arcades, movies/music); the sharing of game engine technology; cooperative development of mobile titles; and the rights to use Namco-owned properties (characters, etc.) in its Simple series of budget games.

We'll let you know when -- and if -- D3 has tekken the offer.

[Via VG247]

Source - Bandai Namco plans D3 buyout [andriasang.com]
Source - Bandai Namco Q3 Management Plan [press release: PDF]

Eidos in early buyout talks

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 15th 2009 at 4:30PM }

Even though she's more busted than a meth-addicted lady of the night, Eidos is ready to work the street corner again for some johns (we're guessing two brothers with the last name Warner). MCV acquired a statement from the publisher, indicating that the board has received a "preliminary approach" from a company, which "may or may not lead" to a buyout.

Although plenty of corporations with the means have pulled up to offer the troubled company a ride, Warner Bros. is the only one to invest and control 20% of the publisher. Further speculation pointed to Warner Bros. after Time Warner's CFO recently made comments about getting more involved in the games industry. We'll have to wait and see if it's Warner that tells Eidos it's OK to turn off the red light.

What does it cost to keep EA at bay?

by Xav de Matos { Dec 24th 2008 at 5:45PM }

In order to keep out of EA's portfolio Take-Two Interactive spent nearly $11.1 million, according to Security and Exchange Commission filings submitted by the Grand Theft Auto IV publisher. In a seven-month-long period Electronic Arts attempted to purchase Take-Two Interactive by way of initial offering and then by bidding directly to shareholders. After numerous delayed deadlines, Electronic Arts finally canceled its quest to purchase the company who owns such high-profile studios as 2K Boston, developers of BioShock. Gamespot reports that Take-Two incurred the costs during the "strategic review process" of the EA offer.

Today, Take-Two Interactive remains an independent company but shareholders are probably grinding their teeth about its current financial situation. At the height of buyout talks, EA was offering $25.74 per share but Take-Two rejected the offer, now the company currently trades at $8 per share ... but that probably has a lot to do with this whole economic crisis thing.

Take-Two spent $11 million preventing EA takeover

by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 22nd 2008 at 5:20PM }

Security and Exchange Commission filings by Take-Two reveal the publisher spent $11.1 million to keep Electronic Arts at bay during its seven-month-long takeover attempt. Gamespot reports that Take-Two incurred the costs during the "strategic review process" of the EA offer.

For better or worse for investors, Take-Two won its battle against EA and remains independent. Although, investors can't be too happy to see the stock they could have gotten $25.74 for during the EA offer currently trading around $8 per share*.

*In fairness, game stocks in general are down. Apparently something to do with an economic crisis.

[Via GameDaily]

Ubisoft 'mad' MMO dev Cryptic went to Atari

by Randy Nelson { Dec 11th 2008 at 6:27PM }

The buyout game, like any other, produces sore losers. In this case it's Ubisoft, who lost out to Atari in a bidding war for Champions Online and Star Trek Online developer Cryptic Studios.

Gamasutra quotes Ubi's CFO, Alain Martinez, as saying the company was "a bit mad [about]" losing the deal. "We were a bit disappointed," Martinez admitted, though he said Ubisoft is moving ahead with other planned acquisitions. "We have about three deals within [the] five million euro range that we are negotiating," he revealed, stating that, "Most probably, one or two of them will be closed in the next three or four months." One of those wouldn't happen to be Eidos, would it?