Bandai/Namco Merger

Date: 2005 May 03 07:45

Posted by Davie

Bandai Co. Ltd has made a deal to buy Videogame maker Namco Ltd for about 175.3 billion Yen (app $1.7 billion) in cash and stock .

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Bandai is the third largest toy maker in the world and the mother company of Bandai America, Bandai Visual and Sunrise. Bandai already acquired 6.3 percent of the company and the rest will be acquired in a stock swap.

The shareholders of the company will meet in June to discuss the merger and eventually approve of it. Namco shareholders will receive one share of the new Bandai/Namco entity and Bandai stockholders will get 1.5 shares of the merged companies for every current share of Bandai. On September 29 the new company will be formed and it will be directed by a mixed team of Bandai and Namco executives.

Bandai Namco Holdings will become the second-largest maker of toys and videogames software in Japan.