Interplay up for sale?
In discussions with an unknown company
American publisher Interplay has announced that it is in discussions with an unknown third party "concerning the acquisition of the company". Although the publisher is at pains to point out that the deal has yet to be closed and may still fall through, which happened to a similar anonymous attempt on Eidos last year, it does look like this is a serious bid for the company. Whoever the suitor is, they are apparently willing to pay a "modest premium" for the company, which is currently valued at just $120m.
Interplay is probably best known for its Black Isle Studios division, which has worked on popular role-playing games such as Planescape Torment and the Baldur's Gate and Fallout series in recent years. Other recent releases include hits such as Giants and Sacrifice, and just a few months ago they announced a major licensing deal to publish PC and console games based on the Matrix movies, rumoured to have cost them over $10m. If the take-over goes ahead, somebody could be about to get themselves a bargain...