Shares in both Sega and Sammy were suspended temporarily this morning on the Tokyo stock exchange in preparation for the announcement, which follows weeks of speculation about the state of the relationship between the two companies.
Last week, gi.biz reported on the steady decline in relations between the two since the announcement of their merger plans, a decline which was accelerated greatly when Sega revealed that it was considering an alternative offer from Namco.
[Sega] has betrayed and embarrassed us, a senior executive at Sammy was quoted as saying. We don’t really care [if the deal goes through] any more. The two companies had previously been seen as closely related thanks to the friendship between Sammy president Hajime Satomi and the late Sega chairman Isao Okawa.Sega’s official line on the end of the merger deal is that the two companies have mutually decided that the combination would not provide the benefits first anticipated. No mention is made of the Namco proposal in the official statement, or Electronic Arts’ continued interest in a partnership, or indeed of the possibility that Microsoft may still be interested in hooking up for friendship and maybe more.
A further announcement is expected within the next day or so, however, as the deadline of May 9 set by Namco for a response to its merger proposal is now looming. All the indications so far are that Sega’s response will be favourable – so by the time the weekend arrives, the wheels may be in motion for the creation of Japan’s largest game publisher in October of this year.
Source: Gamesindustry.biz
