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Square-Enix may become a "Final Fantasy"
01.11.03 Valvados
While it seems as though the gaming community is abuzz with discussion of the announcement of a merger between RPG titans Squaresoft and Enix, there is one voice that has risen above the others to discuss this event, and its tidings are anything but joyful.
Masafumi Miyamoto, who holds forty percent of Square’s total stock, has publicly stated that while he is in favor of the joining of the game giants, he strongly objects to the current terms of the impending merger between the two companies. Miyamoto claims that the current rates are unfair to Square, as it develops most of its games in-house at a larger cost than that spent by Enix on most of the games that it produces.
As currently reported, when, and now it seems, IF, the merger actually occurs, each share of Square stock will be exchanged for Enix stock at a 1 = .81 ratio. Miyamoto has stated these terms are something other than agreeable, and has stated that unless these terms are changed to something more agreeable, that he will not vote in favor of the merger at an upcoming shareholder meeting.
Sixty-six percent of Square’s shareholders must give the go ahead to the merger for it to actually occur; therefore, if Miyamoto votes against the merger, the required majority will not be present. Enix, in response, has called a meeting of its shareholders, in regards to the possibility of changing the exchange rates between the stocks of the two companies. Enix’s president has also commented that the shareholders may decide it is not in their best interests to proceed with the merger if an acceptable medium of exchange cannot be reached.
Enix’s shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for sometime early next week. Until that point, RPG fans will be left to speculate as to whether the merger between the companies behind two of the most popular video game series in history will become impossibility.
UPDATE (01/14/2003): According to Bloomberg, the terms of the merger, more specifically, the terms of the exchange rate of the stock of the two companies, have been changed so that they are more favorable to Square. Now, 1 share of Square stock will be exchanged for .85 of a share of Enix stock when the merger occurs.

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