Konami Plans Complete Takeover of Hudson

Japanese publishing and development giant Konami has announced that it has plans for a complete takeover of Bomberman creator Hudson Soft. Hudson is already technically a wholly owned subsidiary of Konami, since over 50 percent of the shares in the company were bought back in 2005. According to a translated statement issued by Tokyo-based Konami on Wednesday, this takeover will see the publisher acquire a 100 percent stake in Hudson through a share exchange. The transaction of 2.5 million shares will happen on April 1 of this year, Konami said, and Hudson will be delisted from the stock market on March 29. Konami, publisher of games including Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania, is looking to take onboard Hudson's expertise in mobile and online gaming, as well as its popular games range. It will also be looking to further extend its social gaming division through the acquisition. Konami launched its first original social game Viva! Mall on Facebook earlier this month. Michihiro Ishizuka, CEO of Hudson, will step down on March 31, to be replaced by Konami Digital's Kazuhiko Uehara. As part of the takeover, there is the possibility of a company name change for Hudson, along with a business operations merger for the two companies. Konami has around 5,700 employees, while fellow Tokyo firm Hudson has around 500.