Square Enix plans friendly buyout of Tecmo

Square Enix announced today plans for a friendly takeover of beleaguered Tecmo.

As detailed in a release, the plan calls for Square Enix to purchase a controlling stake in Tecmo. The firm will pay 920 per share of Tecmo stock, representing a premium of 30% over August 28's closing price of 708 yen.

If the buyout is successful, Tecmo would become a subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings. This would give it similar status to Taito. The Square Enix release noted that, like Taito, Tecmo would retain its brand name and company organization.

Square Enix hopes to receive a favorable response from the Tecmo board by September 4. Failing this, Square Enix will withdraw its offer.

As reason for the buyout, the release noted Tecmo's ability at creating games for the worldwide market. It also, without going into specifics, mentioned recent troubles experienced by the company. This is likely in reference to recent legal issues surrounding former Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki, which last week lead to the resignation of Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda.

Square Enix will hold a press conference at a Tokyo hotel at 13:00 to provide further details.