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Sunday, November 8, 
11:26 am

SCi receives bid, borrows from Take-Two's play book

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Lara_Croft.jpgWhen Electronic Arts Inc.'s made an unsolicited bid for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., speculation about the next video game deal ran rampant in the press. Well, it seems U.K.-listed video game company SCi Entertainment Group plc, best known for its "Tomb Raider" games, said it had received an offer, but rejected it.

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Although the "indicative proposal" could have led to an offer for the company at "a significant premium" to its present market value of £48 million ($99 million), the board decided that it "did not represent sufficient value." The company also said that, because of its funding requirements, "the pursuit of an uncertain takeover proposal with consequent delay and risks" would not be in the interests of the company or its shareholders.

Sounds like SCi is borrowing from Take-Two's play book. Take-Two has resisted EA's offer on similar grounds.

The SCi announcement also noted that it had received other such indicative proposals over the last six months --  gee, that also sounds familiar. While SCi didn't offer indication of who the bidder is, The Times of London offers a few suggestions. The paper discounted stakeholder Time Warner Inc. as a bidder, but instead suggested French midmarket game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment SA as the most likely bidder. Another acquisitive midtier publisher is U.S.-based THQ Inc., which has gone on the record to say it is interested in seeking more deals.

SCi's share price was up 0.92% on Wednesday afternoon at 54.5 pence. - Neil Sen and Matthew Wurtzel

See press release from SCi
See story from The Times of London
See related story about THQ from Dealscape
See story about EA's tender offer for Take-Two from TheDeal.com
See related stories about EA's offer for Take-Two from The Deal Blogs archives
See Dealwatch: Take-Two





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