EIDOS ELEVATES
15% ON MORNING TRADE
Copyright 2005 www.tombraiderchronicles.com
[ March 22nd 2005 ]
Shares
in video-game publisher Eidos have climbed 15%
during morning trade following an announcement
this morning that Bono's Elevation Partners had
made a successful bid for the beleaguered publisher.
U.S. private equity group Elevation Partners -
which includes U2 singer Bono and former Electronic
Arts president John Riccitiello - offered 50 pence
for each Eidos share for the whole of the issued
and to be issued share capital of Eidos. The bid
values Eidos at approximately GBP 71.0 million.
Eidos
bolsters an arsenal of leading IPs including the
phenomenally successful Tomb Raider franchise,
now under the charge of acclaimed Soul Reaver
creators Crystal Dynamics, the Hitman series,
developed by IO Interactive, and Championship
Manager, now under the aegis of Beautiful Game
Studio. This morning's announcement brings to
an end months of speculation on the future of
Eidos, its employees and shareholders.
Elevation
Partners describes itself as "a newly formed
private equity firm that makes large-scale investments
in market-leading media, entertainment, and consumer-related
businesses. Elevation’s focus is on intellectual
property businesses where it can partner with
management to enhance growth and profitability
through a combination of strategic capital and
operational insight."
Elevation
Partners include: Fred Anderson (former EVP and
CFO of Apple Computers), Marc Bodnick (founder
of Silver Lake Partners), Roger McNamee (founder
of Silver Lake Partners and Integral Capital Partners),
Bret Pearlman (former Senior Managing Director
of The Blackstone Group), John Riccitiello (former
President and COO of Electronic Arts) and Bono
(lead singer and co-founder of U2).
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