SEGA Denies Rumours of Buyout From EA and Microsoft

No sooner has the ink dried on the deal between SEGA and Sammy to merge companies, has the House of Sonic had to issue a denial on several fronts of rumours that both Electronic Arts and Microsoft are planning a takeover.

A XenGamers story (via TSSZ) says that a SEGA representative has had to release a public statement. This reads, "We have not received any formal proposal on a capital alliance and no such issue has been discussed at our board meetings or chief executives meetings. On the contrary, Sega continues to make preparations for a proposed merger with Japanese arcade manufacturer Sammy."

Microsoft - which has been rumoured to buy SEGA since late 2002 - has apparently asked lenders in the US for ways it can finance a partial or complete buyout of the Japanese publisher. This is according to a report in the Asian Wall Street Journal (via CNET), which also said that Electronic Arts approached other game companies about launching a joint bid for control as well.

Importantly, the report states that, while all this chat is going on, no formal talks have been held between either company and SEGA, and no deal was actually imminent. So, basically, just a lot of nonsense.

But, shortly after the Asian Wall Street Journal story was published (via Gamespot), a new report from the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper announced that EA was in fact in discussions with SEGA over a potential sale. This, we should mention, is all taking into account that everyone knows already that SEGA is merging with Sammy!

What a weird, weird, WEIRD month this has been for SEGA and corporate buyouts! Can things get back to normal now, please?