SCi Finalizes Name Change To Eidos As Buyout Rumors Mount

SCi Entertainment Group, parent of Eidos Interactive Tomb Raider) is rebranding itself as Eidos PLC, effective immediately, passing a resolution at its annual meeting to put the change into effect. The company's board says that it would be best to adopt this "single identity," as its most popular franchises are associated with the Eidos name. As part of this re-branding, SCI will also change its trading symbol from SEG to EID. This announcement comes as widespread media reports continue to speculate that both Electronic Arts and Ubisoft (in which EA owns a 25 percent stake) have approached SCi for "early stage" acquisition talks now that its price is relatively low. When approached by Gamasutra for comment yesterday, EA declined to comment on "speculation" regarding its mergers and acquisitions strategy. The struggling company has quadrupled its losses in the past year, and the UK Daily Mail pegs the attrition in SCi's share price at 92 percent. Discussing SCi's 2008 financial results in June, Board chairman Tim Ryan described this past year as "most challenging." SCi also recently amended a "standstill" agreement with stakeholder and distribution partner Warner Bros that would allow the company to buy more shares in SCi, a move that fueled media speculation that the company was looking to be bought. "We are focusing our efforts on our cornerstone franchises, which are predominantly associated with the Eidos brand," said Ryan earlier this year. "The Eidos name is widely recognised in the games marketplace and is our trading name." He continued, "The Board feels that it would be beneficial to align the name of the listed Company to the strong product brand that Eidos represents in order to benefit from a single identity and clearer outward and internal communication. Therefore it is the Board's recommendation to change the name of the Company to Eidos plc."