Square-Enix bid for Tecmo

[Hero-of-Time]

Here's some interesting news that has happened overnight.

 

Today at 1pm Japan Time, Square Enix will be outlining its plans for a friendly takeover troubled game maker Tecmo. Square Enix's takeover would help the company gain a stronger foothold in the U.S. market with popular Tecmo titles like the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive games. What's more, Tecmo's games will help strengthen Square Enix's current portfolio, which is heavily dependent on RPGs.

 

This isn't the first time Square Enix has moved in on a beleaguered company. In August 2005, Square Enix acquired Taito and wholly owned the company as a subsidiary by September 2005.

 

Update: Square Enix has released a statement (after the jump) explaining his Tecmo takeover plan. It includes offering to purchase a controlling interest in Tecmo by purchasing shares in that company at 30 percent premium (¥960 a share compared to yesterday's close price of ¥706 a share). The Tecmo Board of Directors has until September 4 to approve or reject this offer. If rejected, Square states, "We will withdraw our offer."

 

Source: Kotaku

 

This is great! Tifa will be a perfect fit for the Dead or Alive games

[Daft]

I hope this happens. I want to test something that isn't an JRPG.

 

Space Invaders Extreme was my favorite project so far.

[Dan_Dare]

Here's some interesting news that has happened overnight.

 

 

 

Source: Kotaku

 

This is great! Tifa will be a perfect fit for the Dead or Alive games

 

Oh dear...

 

Well Ninja Gaiden and DOA will be shit now most of Team Ninja are gone. Big who cares?

[Guest Jordan]

Agreed there, without Itagaki Team Ninja (or whats left of it) is totally pointless...

[Hero-of-Time]

Well Ninja Gaiden and DOA will be shit now most of Team Ninja are gone. Big who cares?

 

I never rated either of those games anyway so for me its no big loss.

[Guest Jordan]

< Loves Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive with a passion.

 

Dead or Alive = super fast, combo based, countering fighter. Up there with Street Fighter for me.

Ninja Gaiden = Hard as nails, action game involving fucking NINJAS.

[Columnar]

If this happens, does anyone think there's a chance that DOA and Ninja Gaiden II would make they're way to PS3 and stop being Xbox exclusives?

[Dan_Dare]

mmm, depends what part microsoft had in securing the exclusivity. Could be very expensive to pay off, or something.

[Ryan]

If this happens, does anyone think there's a chance that DOA and Ninja Gaiden II would make they're way to PS3 and stop being Xbox exclusives?

 

First thing I thought about when I read it.

[Hellfire]

Square-Enix-Tecmo for the win!

[Dante]

If this happens, does anyone think there's a chance that DOA and Ninja Gaiden II would make they're way to PS3 and stop being Xbox exclusives?

 

Didnt Ninja Gaiden II get published by Microsoft Game Studios than Tecmo?

 

Square-Enix-Tecmo for the win!

 

It's not a merger. They will simply swallow the company and its ips.

 

Square Enix threatens hostile bid for Tecmo

 

Square Enix, the Tokyo video games giant behind the long-running Final Fantasy series, has launched a Y11 billion (GBP50 million) bid for control of Tecmo in a deal expected to trigger a wave of consolidation in the Japanese games industry.

 

A merger of Square and Tecmo would unite a company famous for complicated, immersive role-play titles with a smaller rival whose games focus chiefly on ninjas, bare-chested street-fighters and girls in bikinis.

 

Square said that the proposed deal could turn hostile if the Tecmo board does not accept the offer, adding that the Japanese games industry was now at a critical turning point where consolidation may be the only means of ensuring future growth.

 

Industry analysts believe that the surprise offer, which follows the unexpected resignation of Tecmo’s president last week, will unleash a bidding war within the polarised Japanese video games sector.

 

Tecmo’s development team, responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed titles in gaming history, would be attractive to a number of Japanese and overseas businesses looking to boost their pipeline of new games.

 

Japanese games makers, which used to dominate the global scene but have gradually lost ground to US and European competitors, continue to suffer despite the global popularity of games consoles like Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s Playstation Portable.

 

Although a relatively small deal, analysts said that the bid “detonates a time bomb” in the Japanese video games industry which has been struggling to cope with the harsh economics of software development and the expense of picking sides in the hardware industry’s ongoing console war.

 

The recent arrival of a “next generation” of games consoles has injected a potent measure of competition into the games industry, which is so strong that Nintendo raised its profit forecast by 26 per cent.

 

Sales of its Wii home console and DS handhelds means that the company now expects profit to rise 60 per cent on last year to Y410 billion yen.

 

As he announced his company’s offer for Tecmo, Square’s president, Yoichi Wada, admitted that the games industry’s future at the heart of the global games industry was now at risk.

 

He said: “The scale and growth potential of the games industry is huge but the Japanese games industry is standing at the crossroads, uncertain whether the country can stay at the core of the global industry or not.”

 

Other Japanese players now expected to enter the fray for Tecmo include Capcom and Konami. Spokespeople for both Capcom and Bandai Namco said that growth by acquisition was “something we are always looking at”.

 

Square’s president said that he had been in talks with Tecmo since May, but that the negotiations had taken place directly with the president, who resigned suddenly last week.

 

Mr Wada said that the now rudderless Tecmo was a “concern” and that his bid offered the company its best chance of survival.

 

Although Square’s offer placed a substantial premium of around 32 per cent on yesterday’s closing share price, Tecmo’s board has not yet agreed to the offer. Industry sources told The Times that Square does not necessarily represent the best merger partner for Tecmo.

 

Square Enix has made its name as a specialist in huge, complex role-playing games principally aimed at the Japanese market. Tecmo, meanwhile, has a pedigree that includes numerous sports simulations and the Ninja Gaiden series of action adventures.

[Ryan]

So Square won't walk away after the first offer afterall?

[Dante]

Square Enix Withdraws Tecmo Bid, Hints At Other Acquisitions

 

Following Tecmo’s announcement yesterday that it is seeking a merger with fellow Japanese publisher Koei, Square Enix formally withdrew its offer of a friendly takeover.

 

The withdrawal of the offer follows a written letter of rejection from Tecmo. Although Square Enix were willing to make minor revisions to the offer, a statement from the company implies that demands made by Tecmo, particularly in regards to the takeover price, made further discussions impossible.

 

Discussing the withdrawal with Japanese press, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada indicated that he did not know whether the company would try to acquire Tecmo again at a later date.

 

An AFX news report suggests that any future deal depends on whether Tecmo wants to work for Square Enix. A merger between Tecmo and Koei would create a company still less than a third the size of Square Enix.

 

Wada also confirmed that Square Enix was continuing to look at further acquisitions around the world, but failed to give any hint as to what type of businesses the company was most interested in. "We are talking with quite a few companies in and outside of Japan. We are routinely in such talks," he said.