Ubisoft, tired of sucky Tomb Raider sequels, decides to stop the madness

[Great Rumbler]

Eidos' managers have spent the last week sorting out details of a Ubisoft takeover for an estimated £215 million.

According to reports Eidos have hit financial difficulties due to the underperformance of several key games, including Hitman: Contracts. Expect an official word soon.

Seems like a lot of small companies are being bought up lately.

I know, I know. It's Cube-Europe.

[A Black Falcon]

Eidos takeover rumors have been around for months now, GR... EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, etc...

[Great Rumbler]

There seems to be a bit more substance to this one.

Lara Croft, the computer-generated heroine and pneumatic pin-up girl for the UK's teenage population, is set to bid au revoir to her British investors after Ubisoft, the giant French games publisher, emerged this weekend as the front-runner to snap up Eidos, its struggling UK rival.

The British company, which created Lara in its successful Tomb Raider series of games, is locked in takeover talks with Ubisoft.

Analysts believe the deal could value Eidos at more than £215m or around 150p a share. Eidos shares closed on Friday at just 109p, having plummeted from 184p in May. The company has dismayed shareholders by issuing three profits warnings in the past 12 months.

Senior managers from Ubisoft are understood to have spent most of the past week at Eidos's headquarters, hammering out details of the takeover. However, the French group could yet face competition from other major companies including Microsoft, Sony and THQ, all of which want to strengthen their interests in computer gaming by adding to their portfolios of game titles.

The Eidos management, led by Mike McGarvey, the chief executive, is also believed to be considering a buyout and is looking for financial and private equity backers. Eidos has increasingly struggled to compete with its larger rivals and its key title for this year, Hitman: Contracts, has suffered poor retail sales on both sides of the Atlantic.

If Ubisoft, or another foreign rival, succeeds in taking over Eidos, it would leave the UK without any substantial computer game publishers. The games market is increasingly dominated by a small handful of giant companies which have the financial muscle to create ever more sophisticated titles that require millions of pounds to develop.

Telegraph

[A Black Falcon]

150 pence stock price sale? That's not much (like $2 something), Eidos must be hurting... but it's nothing like Acclaim and its price that is now a few cents, right?

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, Acclaim's stock sunk so low they're about to get de-listed from NASDAQ.

[OB1]

Man I should buy up a bunch of Acclaim stock just for fun. :D

[Great Rumbler]

Maybe if you buy enough you'll become the majority stock-holder.

[OB1]

That would be so cool.

[Great Rumbler]

It wouldn't even cost you very much since their stock is selling for like a nickle a share. You could buy the whole company for about the same price as the cost of a Big Mac!!

[OB1]

Well... not really. But that would be cool!

[Great Rumbler]

Well... not really.

Okay, maybe TWO Big Macs...

[OB1]

That's better.

[big guy]

having just gotten back from England, i would know that 150p is JUST under $3 US. i'm so depressingly broke now...stupid exchange rates.

man i could go for a big mac

[OB1]

What you should have done is gone to Norway, the US dollar is really strong there.

[big guy]

Sweet! next time my ex-girlfriend's sister gets married i'll make sure it's in Norway.