’I Wish My Term Was Over’, Admits Iraq PM Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq’s Prime Minister, has admitted that he wishes his time in office was complete and that he has no desire to serve a second term heading the violence-plagued nation....... Read Full Article Praise For Gibson Film, Quandary For Oscar Voters Hollywood’s tight-knit community of Oscar voters may find itself facing a difficult dilemma in the coming weeks: Will they consider Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto” for an Academy Award?... Read Full Article Solovetsky Islands Journal: Tourists, Monks And History: Whose Islands Are They? Many of the monks who live on the Solovetsky Islands, among the holiest sites in Russian Orthodox Christianity, are alarmed by recent efforts to open the islands to tourists.... Read Full Article Palm Sells 25% Stake To Equity Firm In Revamping Palm Inc. has reached a deal to sell a quarter of the company to Elevation Partners, a private equity firm, for about $325 million as part of a plan to reorganize the company.... Read Full Article Bombings In Afghanistan Kill 5 A suicide car bomber attacked a government building Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, killing a policeman a day after a similar blast left four people ? including two NATO soldiers ? dead.... Read Full Article |
Infogrames Says SCi Rejected Takeover OfferInfogrames, the French video games company behind Atari, last night revealed it was behind a rejected share based bid for Lara Croft’s SCi Entertainment worth about £60 million. The would-be predator indicated that it could go hostile, presenting investors with a choice between a SCi’s planned fundraising and a bid at a “significant premium” to the 55p the shares were trading at last week. Infogrames said that it had presented “a detailed indicative offer” which was rejected last week. It described its proposal as “financially disciplined” and said that it was “in a position to move expeditiously with its proposal” to buy Britain’s SCi. Like SCi, Infogrames is emerging from financial trouble. At the end of last year it raised €150 million in a rescue, which left Blue Bay Asset Management as its largest investor. Its market value was €147.2 million (£115.6 million) last night, making it larger than SCi, which was worth £42 million. Related Links SCI to cut 25% of staff as losses worsen SCi soars 28% after confirming various suitors SCi shares dampened by its revelations on bid approachSCi Entertainment had rejected the bid, arguing it was the wrong time to sell the company because it would have been sold off too cheaply at a time when it was financially weak. It has opted to raise £50 million from investors, led by its two largest shareholders Time Warner and Robert Tchenguiz. However, investors have to vote on the plan next month, and Infogrames insiders were asking yesterday whether it would be appropriate for the two major shareholders to vote, given they are beneficiaries of the restructuring. Both will increase their stakes as a result of the rescue, to a little over 20 per cent each. Infogrames lost €34.7 million in the six months to the end of September, the most recent period for which profit and loss figures are available. However, it has cash on the balance sheet after the fundraising, which will be used to meet a small cash element to its offer, which is otherwise mostly in its shares. Its near term hopes are dependent on the upcoming release of the next version of Alone in the Dark in June. It is billed as a survival horror video game. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationNew-Home Sales Climb, Giving Markets a Break...The Nation: The Wage That Meant Middle Class... E-Commerce: Beaming Online Services Toward Blacks... Rodriguez Not Greedy by Standard of Wall St.... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - Infogrames Says SCi Rejected Takeover Offer |
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