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Bono |
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Tomb Raider's Lara Croft |
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Lara Croft has been an object of affection for gamers for nine years, but her latest suitors could be her most important.
Elevation Partners, a private equity firm which counts U2 rock star Bono among its partners, and SCi Entertainment, makers of the controversial "Carmageddon" games, have faced off in a bidding war for Eidos PLC, the maker of the "Tomb Raider" games.
After the Eidos board agreed early Tuesday to accept Elevation's £71 million ($136.3 million) cash offer, SCi jumped in with a £76 million ($144 million) counter offer.
SCi's offer of one of its shares for every 6 shares in Eidos would value each Eidos share at 53.6 pence, said the company. Elevation's bid valued Eidos at 50 pence a share.
Eidos said in a statement that it "had noted" the SCi stock offer and would consider it, along with the cash offer from Elevation.
Officials at each of the companies involved could not be immediately reached for comment.
Eidos (Research) shares were up 27.4 percent at 57 pence by midday, suggesting investors think the battle has further to run.
Shares in SCi, which is raising around £60 million pounds in a stock offering to help fund its bid, were up 5.3 percent at 338-1/2 pence.
"Over the last three years SCi has delivered strong sales and profit growth and consistently delivered product on time and on budget," SCi Chief Executive Jane Cavanagh said in a statement.
Cavanagh added that Eidos's recent financial woes had "not done justice" to the strength of its brand name.
"We are completely confident that the application of our successful business model across the enlarged group will significantly enhance shareholder value for both SCi and Eidos shareholders," she added.
SCi is best known for its controversial "Carmageddon" series of titles, a road-rage action game that encourages drivers to run over pedestrians. The company has also had success with titles such as "Rally Championship" and "Conflict: Desert Storm". The company recently signed a three-title publishing deal with Take Two Interactive Software's (Research) newly formed 2K Games division.
Elevation, which was also co-founded by John Riccitiello,(former president and COO of Electronic Arts (Research)) and Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee, said earlier it planned to take the company private.
Eidos has been struggling recently and has been rumored to be a takeover target for several years. Last year, it acknowledged its chances of surviving as an independent publisher were slim after an internal review.
With its strong catalog of games, which also include the "Hitman," "Thief" and "Deus Ex" franchises, Eidos has been considered a particularly lush acquisition target. While SCi and Elevation ultimately decided to bid on the company, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Microsoft also reportedly considered making an offer in previous months.
The company has been working on a seventh "Tomb Raider" title (as well as a new "Hitman" game) for next generation consoles and Sony's (Research) PSP. Neither was expected until at least the holiday season, but they will likely be further delayed now.
In its hopes to take Eidos private, Elevation said in a statement it, "will enable (it) to develop games on a schedule which permits maximum creative flexibility. Elevation Partners intends to delay the shipment dates of most of the titles which the Company has under development."
Should Elevation Partners win the bidding war, it won't be the first time Bono and Lara Croft have hooked up. U2 provided a song to the soundtrack of the first "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" film in 2001. The song, ironically, was titled "Elevation".
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-- Reuters contributed to this story
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