EIDOS GEARS UP FOR SHARE INITIATIVE
Copyright 2001 www.tombraiderchronicles.com

[ May 26th 2001 ]

Eidos Interactive, the publisher of Core Designs Tomb Raider series, will launch a new share initiative aimed at generating £50m to help fund a new expansion project, FT MarketWatch reports today. Eidos aims to raise £50 million by selling the new shares at almost half its current share price, the report said. Eidos shares have dropped from more than £10 to a low of 163 pence since the beginning of last year. The shares fell 5.1 percent to 297 pence on Friday.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, its house broker, is expected to be leading the rights issue. The company hopes that the worst might be in its past, as new games consoles from the likes of Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft could spark a revival in the industry. The delay of Sony's PlayStation 2 games console and Microsoft's postponement of its X-box product hit Edios hard, but with PS2 now on the market and X-box on its way, the company hopes to take advantage of a more optimistic sentiment in the games industry.

Another boost could come from the release of the Tomb Raider motion picture, which is due out this summer, starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. The report did not say when the rights issue would take place.