Report: Time Warner Moves In On SCi

A new report on London website The Business claims that media group Time Warner is currently attempting to purchase a 10 percent stake in British publisher and Eidos Interactive owners SCi Entertainment. Almost immediately after SCi acquired Eidos, the company was embroiled in rumors of takeovers, with the company formally announcing that talks had ended in February. During this period, the possible suitors were never named, but the front runners were rumored to be publishers Midway and Vivendi. The Business story, though, quoting unnamed Wall Street sources, suggests that Time Warner initially attempted to acquire the company outright, before reducing the offer to a 20 percent share, which has now been negotiated down to 10 percent by SCi. Time Warner’s interest in the company has been characterized as friendly, with SCi reportedly interested in the improved access it would gain to American markets, and Time Warner keen to have more control over the use of its many entertainment properties in the video game space. The unnamed Wall Street source used by The Business suggests: “Whatever they decide to do, the two parties have to agree because they need to work together going forward. This is more about taking the business on to a different level than just a pure investment.”