EIDOS' SHARE PRICE BALLOONS ON TALK
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[ December 29th 2004 ]

Video-game publisher Eidos has gained 7p to close at 79p as traders bet that 2005 is likely to be a year of consolidation for the computer games industry. This view seems to have been sparked by last week's news that Electronic Arts had picked up a 20 per cent holding in Ubi Soft, Europe's third-biggest video games developer, and hints that it may try to take control of the company. Should EA pull off such a coup, Eidos, which earlier this year put itself up for sale, could well be the next on the US group's hit list.

Eidos confirmed it would pursue a sale during the Company's AGM in November. "During the review process, we concluded that shareholders' interests would be best served by exploring the sale of the Company. Consequently, in conjunction with our financial advisers, UBS, we prepared a short list of the most likely potential partners. We then held preliminary discussions on a confidential basis with short listed candidates as well as with certain other interested parties who approached us directly."