SCi Confirms Investment Rumors

Though it failed to name any of the interested parties, publisher and Eidos parent company SCi has confirmed that it is actively considering an "open offer" in the company, following recent reports of a $100 million offer from NBC. If confirmed, the offer would make NBC Universal a majority stakeholder in the company. The same report said the company could be soliciting further investment from Warner Bros. The short statement from the company reads, "The Board of SCI notes the recent speculation about an equity issue and confirms that it is considering a placing and open offer in the near future." "This fund raising will be to raise the working capital the Company indicated it required at the time of its interim results on 29 February," it continued, referring to earlier news that showed an £81.4 million loss in its second half of 2007. At that time, 14 projects were canceled, and plans to reduce its workforce by 25 percent -- up to 800 people -- and cut annual operating costs by £14 million by the end of June 2008.