One of the final hurdles to Square Enix’s acquisition of UK publisher Eidos Interactive has been overcome, with shareholders voting overwhelmingly in favor of the move.
Over 85 percent of shareholders, representing 99.92 percent of shares, voted in favor of Square Enix’s $117 million takeover.
The acquisition has seemed increasingly likely ever since Square Enix gained the support of the Eidos board and major shareholder Warner Bros.
The rest of the acquisition process is now largely a formality, with Eidos set to suspend its shares listing on April 21st, with the company’s name set to be delisted from the London Stock Exchange the next day.
Full ownership of Eidos and all its properties and studios is then due to formally begin on May 6th.
The acquisition will give Square Enix access to Eidos’ Western distribution network, as well as franchises including Tomb Raider, Hitman and Deus Ex.
One of the most successful Japanese companies taking over a struggling US company to expand its ability to publish and produce games over here. Sounds great to me.
I wonder what kind of effect this will have on Square Enix's game design. The majority of the Japanese and American game markets respond culturally to very different things. Though I've rarely been a fan of Japanese game design, I still have a lot of respect for Square Enix and hope we'll see a good blend between the two.
Vilmos, usually when a company buys out another they don't interfere with existing personnel or projects unless it's a hostile purchase (unlikely in this case). However they can and will likely influence future projects. I do find it bizarre that Square would buy out Eidos though. The two companies are tangential to each other in terms of what they produce. I'm not exactly sure what Square sees in Eidos.
They see experience in Western game development, they see expansion into another market, and they see a known brand name, they see established IPs. This falls in line perfectly with the stated goals of SE right now, expanding their market outside of Japan. They know that they need to appeal to a wider world and they are focusing business decisions on that. You can see it through their increased support of the 360, their acquisition of Eidos, opening a new research and development studio in LA, etc. They are trying to diversify, which is usually a good idea.
One of the most successful Japanese companies taking over a struggling US company to expand its ability to publish and produce games over here. Sounds great to me.
If we get a Tomb Raider RPG, all the better!
Earlier I was hoping for Warner to buy Eidos, now I hope this will work out...
@ Jeff : Eidos is based in the UK.