Eidos being courted once more

Eidos, who made millions on the early episodes of the Tomb Raider and Championship Manager franchises have been struggling of late. Indeed, they have been subject of many a takeover rumour for a long time, and only last month Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp was about to buy them, however that deal fell through at the eleventh hour.

Now, though, another champion has stepped into the ring. Whilst not naming names, the firm revealed to the stock market that an approach was made on March 2nd for a possible cash offer valued at 53p per share “subject to one principal condition”.

Chairman John van Kuffeler was not cracking open the champagne just yet, however; “There can be no assurance that this condition will be satisfied and no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made.

“This disclosure has not been made with the consent of the other party concerned. Given the financial position and standalone prospects for the company, it is the board’s current intention to recommend this offer to shareholders if it is made.”

Eidos certainly haven’t helped their own cause, though, what with key franchises being pushed into this year meaning that the 2004 Christmas-time gaming was not spent on the likes of Tomb Raider 5000 or Hitman 90, or indeed the long-awaited Championship Manager title. There was one gaming success, though, with ShellShock: Nam ’67 selling in excess of 900,000 units. The outlook, though is still bleak for the beleaguered publisher, with van Kuffeler adding, “In the absence of a successful conclusion to the strategic review, the outlook for Eidos as an independent company remains challenging and the strategic decision to defer the release of certain titles to FY06 will have a significant impact on the expected results for the current financial year as a whole,”.

In the spirit of patriotism, I shall have my fingers-crossed that somebody saves this British publisher. Keep them peeled for more info as it hits.