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Square Enix to Acquire Taito Date: 8/30/2005 |
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Friendly Bid to Acquire Taito Share at a 20% Market Premium -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Square Enix has offered 45.16 billion yen (US$405 million) in a friendly bid to purchase game-make Taito. The companies have been in merger talks since last April and have decided that an outright acquisition would be the best way to proceed. Kyocera, which owns a 36% stake in Taito supports the takeover bid and has agreed to sell its share back to Taito to facilitate the acquisition. Square-Enix is offering 181,100 yen per share, a 20 percent premium over Taito's 6-month average market price. If Square Enix is able to reach agreements with Taito and its shareholder to acquire 67% of Taito shares it will acquire the shares and then begin procedures to turn Taito into a wholly-owned subsidiary. Failing to purchase the 67% ownership, Square Enix still intends to acquire Taito though other means. Market conditions have lead to several anime/gaming related mergers in the last 2 years. Square merged with Enix to form Square Enix, Sega and Sammy merged in October while Namco is in the process of merging with Bandai and Takara with Tomy. |
| Source: Anime News Network |
