Square Enix makes bit on Tecmo
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Less than 24 hours after it made headlines for selling over 1 million copies of Ninja Gaiden II, Tecmo is making news again.Role-playing game giant Square Enix (Final Fantasy XIII) announced it was making an unsolicited but nonhostile bid for the Dead or Alive 4 publisher.
In a statement, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada presented the offer as an attempt to rescue Tecmo. In the span of two months, the publisher has been rocked by a declining stock price, class-action lawsuits, and the departure of and legal action by star designer Tomonobu Itagaki. Just last week, Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda abruptly stepped down, citing personal reasons.
"Tecmo is a group of excellent creators with a proven track record in the global market, which is a precious human resource of Japan," explained Wada. "We, however, cannot be optimistic about the future of this significant resource, given the current circumstances surrounding Tecmo. We believe that Tecmo will be able to make a great leap forward by joining Square Enix Group, which will provide the group with further growth opportunities as well."
Though Tecmo has not yet publicly commented on Square Enix's offer, it is likely tempting to many shareholders. The ¥920 ($8.46) per share offer is a 30 percent premium on Tecmo's ¥706 ($6.49) closing price on Thursday. The Bloomberg news service values the entire bid at 22.3 billion yen ($205 million). As a result of the offer, Tecmo stock shot up 14 percent to close ¥806 ($7.41) per share today, with Square Enix's stock rising 2.6 percent to ¥3,610 ($33.20).
While generous, Square-Enix's self-described "friendly takeover bid" (TOB) is very time-sensitive, expiring on September 4--next Thursday. Wada's statement ended with "If [Square Enix] should, by the deadline, receive no response from Tecmo, or fail to obtain consent by the board of directors of Tecmo to the TOB, the company will withdraw the proposal, and will NOT acquire the Tecmo shares through the TOB as planned in the proposal." (Emphasis in the original.)
In a statement, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada presented the offer as an attempt to rescue Tecmo. In the span of two months, the publisher has been rocked by a declining stock price, class-action lawsuits, and the departure of and legal action by star designer Tomonobu Itagaki. Just last week, Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda abruptly stepped down, citing personal reasons.
"Tecmo is a group of excellent creators with a proven track record in the global market, which is a precious human resource of Japan," explained Wada. "We, however, cannot be optimistic about the future of this significant resource, given the current circumstances surrounding Tecmo. We believe that Tecmo will be able to make a great leap forward by joining Square Enix Group, which will provide the group with further growth opportunities as well."
Though Tecmo has not yet publicly commented on Square Enix's offer, it is likely tempting to many shareholders. The ¥920 ($8.46) per share offer is a 30 percent premium on Tecmo's ¥706 ($6.49) closing price on Thursday. The Bloomberg news service values the entire bid at 22.3 billion yen ($205 million). As a result of the offer, Tecmo stock shot up 14 percent to close ¥806 ($7.41) per share today, with Square Enix's stock rising 2.6 percent to ¥3,610 ($33.20).
While generous, Square-Enix's self-described "friendly takeover bid" (TOB) is very time-sensitive, expiring on September 4--next Thursday. Wada's statement ended with "If [Square Enix] should, by the deadline, receive no response from Tecmo, or fail to obtain consent by the board of directors of Tecmo to the TOB, the company will withdraw the proposal, and will NOT acquire the Tecmo shares through the TOB as planned in the proposal." (Emphasis in the original.)
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purifier wrote...
Azuran wrote...
Final Fantasy vs Dead of Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball 3!Sweet vid.
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Azuran wrote...
Final Fantasy vs Dead of Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball 3!That was the 1st thing that came to mind when i read this!
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So, as a game designer, when i watched the movie, I had a hundred different gameplay concepts and tweaks going through my head like quick cast/normal spells, maybe gathering game specific orbs on the field so you can summon another character, expansive levels, not to mention split screen multi-player fights with combo attacks and support moves.
Also, we already knew that FF was better, didn't need a movie to say it, though I am so glad they thought it was necessary. Of course, since I may never work for Square, I suppose I will content myself with implementing the ideas I thought up into a fighting game i've been working on.
And wtf? where the hell is the Bouncer? Has everyone gone and forgotten about that game? I think Tifa's kicks resemble Kou's a lot. I wonder if this new generation even knows about this game...
Anyway, the merger probably won't hurt either company and seems to be boosting both of them, though if Tecmo refuses, I have a feeling that their stocks will suffer greatly as people will lose hope/interest in the company.
Also, we already knew that FF was better, didn't need a movie to say it, though I am so glad they thought it was necessary. Of course, since I may never work for Square, I suppose I will content myself with implementing the ideas I thought up into a fighting game i've been working on.
And wtf? where the hell is the Bouncer? Has everyone gone and forgotten about that game? I think Tifa's kicks resemble Kou's a lot. I wonder if this new generation even knows about this game...
Anyway, the merger probably won't hurt either company and seems to be boosting both of them, though if Tecmo refuses, I have a feeling that their stocks will suffer greatly as people will lose hope/interest in the company.
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nightclock wrote...
So, as a game designer, when i watched the movie, I had a hundred different gameplay concepts and tweaks going through my head like quick cast/normal spells, maybe gathering game specific orbs on the field so you can summon another character, expansive levels, not to mention split screen multi-player fights with combo attacks and support moves. Also, we already knew that FF was better, didn't need a movie to say it, though I am so glad they thought it was necessary. Of course, since I may never work for Square, I suppose I will content myself with implementing the ideas I thought up into a fighting game i've been working on.
And wtf? where the hell is the Bouncer? Has everyone gone and forgotten about that game? I think Tifa's kicks resemble Kou's a lot. I wonder if this new generation even knows about this game...
Anyway, the merger probably won't hurt either company and seems to be boosting both of them, though if Tecmo refuses, I have a feeling that their stocks will suffer greatly as people will lose hope/interest in the company.
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purifier wrote...
Well, Square Enix did say they wanted to do it because Tecmo is failing and they don't want to see them disappear.This is true. Maybe it's just my westernized point of view, but I am kinda wondering if Square has some ulterior motives, since I have no idea wut they would gain from absorbing Tecmo...guess we'll have to wait and see...
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Tecmo refused Square Enix offer. So I will not happen.
But Tecmo said the have merger talks with Koei
But Tecmo said the have merger talks with Koei