Eidos Interactive

Eidos Interactive is a publisher of video and computer games based in Wimbledon, London, best known for series such as Tomb Raider, Commandos, Legacy of Kain, Hitman, Deus Ex, Fear Effect and Thief. The company maintains offices around the world, including the United States, Germany, France, Australia and Japan.

History

Eidos plc, later to become the parent company of Eidos Interactive, was founded in 1990 as a company specialising in non-linear editing and video compression systems, particularly for Acorn Archimedes computers. Following a series of rights issues and a strongly rising share price, Eidos plc undertook a series of acquisitions in the games sector, beginning with the acquisition of the PC games companies Simis Limited, Domark Group Limited and The Big Red Software Company Limited in 1995 through a reverse takeover. At the time, Domark was known for Championship Manager, 3D Construction Kit, Hard Drivin' and many other games.

In 1996, Eidos plc acquired CentreGold plc, which included Centresoft and US Gold. US Gold included the valuable asset of Core Design, which was probably best known for Tomb Raider, Curse of Enchantia, Chuck Rock, Cybercon III, Heimdall, Rick Dangerous and E-Motion. A further series of acquisitions and skilful use of capital meant that Eidos plc (now almost entirely consisting of Eidos Interactive) was the fastest growing company in the world in the 1990s, with the share price rising over 400 times from its 1993 low to its 1999 high.

On August 3, 2004, the Wall Street Journal reported that Eidos was in preliminary discussions with a small number of companies in relation to possible business combinations. In early March 2005 Eidos admitted that cash reserves had dwindled to £11.9m during the second half of 2004 and pre-tax losses had grown to £29m.

On March 21, 2005 Eidos received a takeover bid from Elevation Partners, the private equity firm owned by former Electronic Arts president John Riccitiello. This takeover valued the company at £71m ($135m), and would inject £23m in order to keep the company solvent in the short term. The day after, Eidos received a second takeover bid from the British games manufacturer SCi Entertainment. SCi offered £74m ($139m), and tabled a restructuring plan to cut £14m from annual costs. To fund this takeover, SCi proposed to sell £60m worth of stock. Eventually, in late April, Elevation Partners formally withdrew its offer, leaving the way clear for SCi. The takeover was finalised on May 16, 2005.

Eidos Interactive

History

Games