SCi SECURES 20% STAKE IN EIDOS PLC
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[ March 24th 2005 ]

SCi Entertainment Group, the firm at the center of an acquisition battle for beleaguered publisher Eidos plc, has fortified its position by scoring a 20% stake in the company. Investment group Schroder has accepted SCi's bid on behalf of 14.99 per cent of Eidos' shareholders. Under the terms of the offer, Schroder will acquire one share of SCi stock in return for every six shares of Eidos stock it currently holds, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

Elevation Partners and SCi are both vying for Eidos, even though a statement issued on behalf of Eidos says the firm has already accepted an all-cash offer from Elevation Partners to the tune of 50 pence for each Eidos Share and each Eidos ADS (each Eidos ADS representing 1 Eidos Share) for the whole of the issued and to be issued share capital of Eidos. This offer values Eidos at 71 million pounds.

SCi Entertainment Group entered the race for Eidos plc with a counter offer on Tuesday morning, weighing in with a 76.1 million pound all-share bid. Heavy trading on Eidos' stock spurred on by an approach from SCi and Elevation Partners has seen the beleaguered video-game publisher add almost 30% to its market capital. The fight between SCi and Elevation Partners brings to an end months of speculation on the future of Eidos, its employees and shareholders.