Bandai and Namco to Merge

[Rivenn]

It seems that the maker of everyone's favourite Virtual Pet will be growing come September. The toy giant will be combining their efforts with Namco, makers of such videogames as Dead to Rights, Katamari Damacy, Pac-Man, SoulCalibur, to name a few.

The article that I read came from IGN and reads as follows:

Namco and Bandai to MergeTwo Japanese giants plan to get even bigger.

by Jeremy Dunham

May 2, 2005 - Following the conclusion of simultaneous board meetings held earlier this morning, it was revealed that Bandai Corporation and Namco Limited would amalgamate their companies into a single entity this fall. The proposed merger will create the second-largest toy and videogame business group in Japan, and boast a combined annual sales total of 458 billion yen ($4.4 billion US).

To be made official on September 29, 2005, the brand new company will be known as Kabushiki Kaisha Bandai Namco Holdings (or just Namco Bandai Holdings in English) and will be a joint-holding company created through a share for share exchange. The only formality left is the most important one -- approval by the shareholders. The total number of shares expected to be issues by the new holding company is 258,296,882 at 12 yen per Namco share and 18 yen per Bandai share.

For the unfamiliar (all two of you), Bandai is Japan's largest manufacturer of toys with alternate focuses on games, apparel, candy, models, vending machines, and household goods. Namco is a similarly-built company with a focus of videogame software and amusement equipment.

The expected series of events to make this merger possible has already been outlined by Namco in its official press release:

    * (May 2, 2005) Meeting of the Boards of Directors to approve the share-for-share exchange for a shareholder vote [Namco and Bandai]

    * (June 23, 2005) General meeting of shareholders to approve of the share-for-share exchange [bandai]

    * (June 25, 2005) General meeting of shareholders to approve of the share-for-share exchange [Namco]

    * (September 22, 2005) Tokyo Stock Exchange delisting date [Namco and Bandai]

    * (September 29, 2005) Date of execution of the share-for-share exchange

In terms of the corporate restructuring and how the new executive team will operate, Namco Vice-Chairman Kyushiro Takagi will become the new Chairman and Director of Namco Bandai Holdings, while Bandai President Takeo Takasu will become the president of Namco Bandai as well.

Expect more on this huge merger (and what kind of games it will create) in the coming months.

Article from: here

I don't know exactly what this means for Tamagotchi, and it could mean anything, so we'll have to keep our eyes peeled.

 

[AmandaGotchi]

Hmm... interesting. Hopefully this will mean more tamagotchis? Maybe, because Namco already makes lots of handheld games... =)

 

[TrickerTreat]

Maybe a Tamagotchi videogame?

That'd be interesting.

 

[Rivenn]

Well, TrickerTreat, they already had a Tamagotchi Videogame...

https://img.epinions.com/images/opti/ec/b7/...-resized200.jpg

However, a nice new one would be nice. Possibly even something more expansive, like a simple RPG or something. *imagines a Tamagotchi Melee Battle game* Oh, the possibilities!

 

[AmandaGotchi]

I think he meant an RPG or action game. =)

 

[TrickerTreat]

Well yeah, when I said Tamagotchi videogame I didn't mean another pet simulator ( I actually have that gameboy game, heheh). Maybe something more adventury or something like what amandagotchi said.

 

[Afterglw]

OooOOooOoo. That'd be neat! I hope they really use this merger to their upmost capabilities and bring us something cool like a Videogame... I know I'd buy it. I loooooove videogames~!