Square Enix Could Be Looking for Another Eidos

Last year, Square Enix made a big push into the western market by acquiring Eidos, the big UK publisher. Its investment paid off rather quickly, as, at the end of 2009, Eidos, while under Enix's supervision, released Batman: Arkham Asylum, a game that surpassed everyone's expectations and even won a world record, with the biggest average review score for a comic book-inspired game. And it looks like, with this investment proving to be a smart business decision, the company could be getting ready to make another big purchase in the near future.

The Japanese company has just secured a 35-billion-yen or $386-million zero-coupon convertible bond, a move that has business analysts everywhere scratching their heads, trying to figure out to whom the money will go. One opinion, that of KBC Securities Japan analyst Hiroshi Kamide, is that Square is making this a rainy-day opportunity, while still remembering that the company has a substantial debt to repay.

"The cost of borrowing monies is so low in the world at the moment that Square Enix is being opportunistic in raising funds on the cheap today, just in case it feels like shopping for something," Kamide said. As for the debt, the company has a November 2010 deadline to meet for a 50-billion-yen, or $552-million loan that still needs to be returned. "So this new 35 billion yen bond is helping them repay it – swapping an old debt with a new one," Kamide explained.

And while this is a possibility, it's not a very probable one. The Final Fantasy manager has roughly 80 billion yen, or $883 million in its name, ready to be served at any point in time, so it's not like he would need additional money to handle the problem. As for possible business acquisitions, Electronic Arts would better pray Mitch Lasky wasn't right when he stated that EA was ripe for the taking, with all the money the company had been losing lately.