EIDOS BUYOUT TALKS " PROGRESSING WELL"

Eidos laments overseas sales slump while company sale talk gathers pace

14:30 It seemed to be a case of all quiet on the Eidos buyout front, but after reporting losses in its quarterly results earlier today, the Brit company has revealed that discussions for possible business ventures are very much alive, while also hinting at several future-gen projects on the horizon.

" Discussions, which relate to a possible sale of the company, are progressing well" the company said in a statement. However, it did warn that " there can be no certainty at this stage as to whether or not they will lead to an offer being made for the company."

A failure to crack the dominant American market has been highlighted as one of the main culprits behind the publisher' s 2.9 million pound year-end net loss, with it reportedly admitting to not being big enough to compete on an increasingly heated international stage.

However, what it does have is several prestigious brands under its belt, including Tomb Raider, Hitman, Championship Manager and Deus Ex, and it is little surprise that giants like EA, Activision, THQ, Microsoft, Sony and Take-Two have all been linked to the company. Whether any of these will make a concrete bid (a Ubisoft one is believed to have fallen through) remains to be seen.

Still, while uncertainty continues on the business side, Eidos remains focused on the future with some of its studios already embroiled in future-gen IPs. Its IO Interactive studio, best known for the Hitman series, is " playing a key role in the group' s transition progression to next generation Xbox 2 and PS3 platforms, which is on track" the company said, while the " restructured" Core Design is looking at the PSP.

More details on these, and any buyout developments, soon. We hope.


Stephen Daultrey