Lara Croft is getting a new boss.
Eidos, the British gamemaker behind the "Tomb Raider" franchise, has agreed to be purchased by Japanese vidgame company Square Enix for $120 million.
Small sum will significantly hurt Warner Bros., which owned 20% of Eidos, and is now expected to lose $93 million should the deal be approved by investors. It had invested $30 million in Eidos last year on top of the initial $87 million it put into the company in 2006.
Square Enix is buying out WB's stake for $24 million.
Warner had a deal to distrib Eidos' games in North America, and recently picked up the rights to reboot "Tomb Raider" as a potential franchise, with Dan Lin ("Sherlock Holmes" and "Terminator: Salvation") to produce.
Offer from Square Enix values Eidos at around $120 million, double its market capitalization of $52 million.
Square Enix, with its long-running "Final Fantasy" franchise, has been primarily focused on the Japanese market. Acquisition of the "Tomb Raider" games should help it expand outside that market.
Eidos has been struggling lately with disappointing sales for its games.
In addition to "Tomb Raider," it also publishes "Kane and Lynch."
Company announced a takeover offer from an undisclosed company in January.
Contact Marc Graser at
marc.graser@variety.com