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GamesIndustry.biz, is reporting that Square Enix has made a substantial move to pick up Eidos Interactive from Warner Bros. Entertainment and, subsequently, Time Warner. Square Enix has offered £84.3 million ($120+ million) for Eidos. This bid represents a 258% premium to where the stock is currently trading. As such, Eidos’ board of directors has agreed to recommend the bid to shareholders. However, because Warner Bros. Entertainment owns a 20% stake in Eidos, “Warner Bros Entertainment Inc is contractually obliged under a Subscription Agreement with Eidos to provide an irrevocable undertaking in respect of 52,518,080 Eidos shares representing approximately 20 per cent of the existing issued share capital of Eidos.” Whether Eidos will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Square Enix or Warner Bros. Entertainment / Time Warner is yet to be determined. Square Enix is crossing its fingers, however, as the deal will “reinforce the Square Enix Group’s position as one of the world’s leaders in interactive entertainment with a broad portfolio of market leading franchises.”
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