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Eidos Board Approves SCi Buyout Offer Over Rival Bid from Elevation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 7, 2005 - 3:20am.
London -- The board of directors of struggling U.K. video game publisher Eidos announced on Thursday that it has voted to accept a buyout offer from fellow U.K. publisher SCi Entertainment Group, rejecting a rival offer Elevation Partners, a venture capital firm whose principals include former Electronic Arts president John Riccitiello and U2 frontman Bono. About 41% of Eidos shareholders have already approved the SCi buyout, which will offer about $1.37 per Eidos share, as compared with Elevation's offer of $0.94 per share. About 41% of Eidos shareholders have already voiced their approval of the deal. Eidos said that it has recommended shareholders accept the SCi bid, despite the fact that Eidos is much larger than SCi, operating on a global scale, and may lose key employees as a result of the merger.
tags: SCI | Elevation | Eidos Board | Buyout Offer |

Hollywood Video Accepts $850 Million Buyout Offer From Movie Gallery

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 10, 2005 - 11:06am.
Dothan, Ala. -- Movie Gallery, the nation's third-largest video rental chain, announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire rival Hollywood Entertainment, the second-largest rental chain behind Blockbuster, in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. The deal would see Alabama-based Movie Gallery pay $13.25 a share for Hollywood, or $850 million, and assume about $350 million in Hollywood's debt. However, news of the deal sent Hollywood shares up as high as $20 on Monday, sparking analysts to speculate that the bidding war may not be over and Blockbuster may sweeten its initial bid of $11.50 per share for Hollywood. While Movie Gallery operates 2,475 stores in mainly rural locations, Hollywood Video has 2,000 video rental stores and over 700 Game Crazy video game stores. Blockbuster operates more than 9,000 video rental stores worldwide.
tags: Hollywood Video | Buyout Offer | Movie Gallery | Accepts |

Shareholders Reject Electronic Arts' Buyout Offer for "Battlefield" Developer

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2004 - 9:16am.
Stockholm, Sweden -- Video game publisher Electronic Arts, which last month offered to purchase Swedish "Battlefield" developer Digital Illusions CE (DICE), saw its plans stymied this week when 29% of DICE shareholders voted against the deal. The vote came despite the recommendation from DICE's board of directors to approve it; 90% must agree to the deal for it to proceed. Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts currently owns 19% of DICE, which it purchased in 2003 when it signed a 15-year publishing deal with the company. In addition to DICE's 4 million unit-selling "Battlefield" titles, it also is responsible for the "Rallisport Challenge" game franchise. The deadline for EA to reach a deal to purchase Digital Illusions is Dec. 27.
tags: Battlefield | Electronic Arts | Shareholders | Buyout Offer |