Acclaim - Übernahme durch SEGA? - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[Quatschabsorber]

Ich glaube, daß acclaim ideal zu den Zielen von SEGA passt: SEGA + acclaim = Zweitgrößter Anbieter Americas
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Sega says pursuing U.S. game publisher deals


Tuesday July 9, 6:50 PM EDT

(Recasts, adds financial details for Sega, others)

By Ben Berkowitz

LOS ANGELES, July 9 (Reuters) - Japanese video game publisher Sega Corp.(7964) is looking to acquire other publishers in the United States and Europe as part of its bid to become the largest player in the booming field, a senior company executive said on Tuesday.

Sega, which abandoned the hardware market 18 months ago to focus exclusively on game software, is looking at a wide range of possible business combinations, Charles Bellfield, a Sega vice president told Reuters.

Sega has set a goal of becoming the No. 2 game publisher in the United States this year and vying for the No. 1 spot globally through fiscal 2004.

Sega may have kicked off the round of consolidation industry watchers have long expected by declaring an ambition to pursue other publishers much like its best-known character, Sonic the Hedgehog, pursues gold rings.



Bigger video game companies, flush with cash from recent record-level sales, have been widely expected to gobble up smaller publishers, taking advantage of their competitive difficulties such as the lack of economies of scale.

Bellfield said the only independent game publisher that Sega could rule out at the moment as an acquisition target was No. 1 publisher Electronic Arts Inc.(ERTS), with a market capitalization of more than $8 billion and annual revenue of more than $1.7 billion.

Sega, which once made game system hardware to challenge industry leaders Nintendo and Sony, has benefited from its January, 2001 move to focus exclusively on software. The company returned to profitability on an operating basis in fiscal 2002 after two years of heavy losses.

While it is unclear how Sega would finance a potential deal, the company`s cash hoard is almost twice as large as the market capitalization of Acclaim Entertainment Inc.(AKLM), the largest U.S. publisher trading at less than $5 per share.

Sega had 59.91 billion yen ($508 million) in long-term convertible debt as of the end of March, but it also had 62.76 billion yen ($532.2 million) in cash.

TALKS BROKE OFF IN MAY

Bellfield said Sega had been set to announce a deal with a game publisher at the industry`s Electronic Entertainment Expo in May, but the agreement fell through. He declined to name the company.

The most "interesting opportunities" for potential acquisitions were among the smaller, listed publishers that might provide development teams and intellectual property, such as rights to game franchises, Bellfield said.

But, he added, "(I) can`t confirm or deny any particular talks with any particular company at this point."

The smaller U.S. listed game publishers, include notable names like Acclaim Entertainment Inc.(AKLM), Midway Games Inc.(MWY), Interplay Entertainment Corp.(IPLY) and 3DO Co. (THDO)

As of the close of trading on Tuesday, Acclaim had a market capitalization of $270.8 million, Midway had a capitalization of $196.7 million, Interplay had a market value of $29.8 million and 3DO`s capitalization was $24.1 million.

Jeetil Patel, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities, said almost any company apart from EA was a possible acquisition target, including THQ Inc.(THQI), which publishes Sega games for Nintendo Co. Ltd.`s(7974) Game Boy Advance handheld console.

Bellfield also said Sega plans to be more directly involved in the European market in 2003.

He said there were no announcements at this point about the company`s relationship with Infogrames Entertainment (IFOE), Europe`s largest games publisher and distributor of Sega games in Europe. That distribution contract expires March 31, 2003.

After a report in the Wall Street Journal Europe on Tuesday about Sega`s plans, shares in Infogrames Entertainment rocketed 23 percent on speculation the company could be a take-over target.

An Infogrames spokeswoman declined to comment, citing company policy on market rumors.

Shares in Infogrames` U.S. subsidiary, Infogrames Inc. (IFGM) were also higher, closing up almost 7 percent at $3.40 on Nasdaq, on volume more than four times their 90-day average.

[Quatschabsorber]

Bin ich über Nacht verblödet? Aber folgenden Text habe ich bei SEGA.com gefunden. Ich wußte nicht, daß SEGA auch CRAZY TAXI rausgibt. Ich dachte, Crazy Taxi sein eine Trademark von acclaim???

Kann mich jemand auflären?

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Crazy Taxi 3

Cabbies, fire up your flashy rides, you`re going to the Glitter Oasis. The glitzy strip is loaded with high rollers with money to burn and no time to waste, and you know what that means - cha-ching! In Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller for the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft®, you`ll rocket your fares through and around the popular sites of America`s Playground with hair-raising shortcuts and maniacal maneuvers to score the big tips. There are four new crazy drivers who attack the roads day and night with the no-fear attitudes you`ve come to expect from this wild ride series. Be prepared for hilarious interactions with quirky customers, such as groups of bunnies, can-can dancers, boxers, skateboarders, and more. You can even take a spin through the revamped city streets of the Crazy Taxi "West Coast" course and the "Small Apple" course from Crazy Taxi 2, where you`ll find new shortcuts and maneuvers.
Four wild new cabbies and vehicles.
Drive during the day or night.
Revised versions of the Crazy Taxi West course and the Small Apple course from Crazy Taxi 2
Tons of group customers with signature animations.
All-new addictive mini-games.
Over-the-top hotel destinations like Valhalla, Galaxy and Pax Romana.

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Wem gehört die Marke?

[Nemaxfire]

Cracy Taxi gehörte schon immer zu Sega!
Acclaim hatte nur die rechte erworben!
Das zeigt aber das Acclaim und Sega schon länger
zusammen arbeiten und so könnte auch ich mir eine
übernahme gut vorstellen.
Vorallen weil Acclaim auch einige eigene gute Namen
im programm hat wie z.b Turok, Shadow Man oder Dave Mirra!
Ich verstehe überhaupt nicht warum Acclaim über 50%
kursverlust eingebüst hat in den letzten wochen.
Acclaim lag im rahmen der gewinnerwartung und überhaupt
hat Acclaim selten mehr gewinne gemacht!!!

[Quatschabsorber]

Das Problem ist, daß nur ein kleinerer Teil des Gewinns aus dem operativen Geschäft stammt, und daß der Rest zwar in der Bilanz schön aussieht, aber aus Kapitaltransaktionen stammt.

acclaim macht dieses Jahr vermutlich mal 12 Mio USD Gewinn aus dem Spielegeschäft. Der Gewinn pro Aktie liegt bei ungefähr 10 Cent. Damit ist die Aktie m.E. bei 3,50 USD fair bewertet.

[Maxi99]

Was für Kapitaltransaktionen? Wo bekommt man Infos darüber?

[Quatschabsorber]

In den Quartalsberichten von acclaim. In den ersten 3 Quartalen waren es nur 9 MIO USD Gewinn aus dem operativen Geschäft. (Bericht Q3 2002)

Der Rest sind außerordentliche Erträge.

[Maxi99]

War nicht gerade berauschend, der Anstieg gestern. Speziell in diesem Umfeld (Nasdaq +4,74%, AKLM +4,29%)

[Quatschabsorber]

shadowman für PS1 für 15 € im Ramschangebot.

[Quatschabsorber]

After Hours Trade Reporting
Tuesday July 30

After Hours
Last:
$2.37

After Hours
Best Bid:
N/A

After Hours
High:
$2.39

After Hours
Volume:
4,372,300

After Hours
Best Ask:
N/A

After Hours
Low:
$2.28



After Hours After Hours After Hours
Time (ET) Price Share Volume
16.53 $ 2.37 100
16.42 $ 2.39 200
16.35 $ 2.30 1000
16.35 $ 2.30 3000
16.34 $ 2.30 1000
16.34 $ 2.30 3000
16.34 $ 2.30 1000
16.31 $ 2.35 200
16.30 $ 2.30 1200000
16.16 $ 2.30 225000
16.14 $ 2.30 600000
16.13 $ 2.30 395000
16.09 $ 2.30 287100
16.05 $ 2.30 287100
16.05 $ 2.30 200
16.05 $ 2.30 4400
16.05 $ 2.30 100
16.04 $ 2.28 60000
16.04 $ 2.28 12200
16.03 $ 2.30 200000
16.03 $ 2.30 564200
16.03 $ 2.30 473300
16.01 $ 2.28 44500
16.00 $ 2.30 5800
16.00 $ 2.28 600
16.00 $ 2.28 900
16.00 $ 2.28 900
16.00 $ 2.30 100
16.00 $ 2.30 900
16.00 $ 2.29 500

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Fast 4,5 Mio Stücke afterhours gehandelt! Was ist da los?