Eidos in rights issue.
Computer games maker Eidos said last week it is planning a rights issue to raise £51.7m – without a chief financial officer.
Eidos, which makes the game Commandos (pictured above), has been unable to find a CFO since last October, when Jeremy Lewis resigned and merger talks with French competitor Infogrames Entertainment collapsed.
Analyst Jean-Pierre Miguet, of French bank CCF, said the company was having difficulties finding a replacement because ‘the management has lost the confidence of bankers and the market’. But an Eidos spokesman said this was without foundation.
‘Eidos has always maintained a good relationship with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The bank has been supportive throughout.’ He added there had been previous candidates for the post, and ‘there is an appointment expected imminently’.
Some analysts believe Eidos made the rights issue because it needs the cash in order to survive, a view the company also rejects. Miguet said: ‘They have a cash-burn rate which will remain high until September/October. The capital increase is to finish games and finance the losses of the first semester.’
But Eidos’ spokesman said: ‘What you need to look at is that the company is committed to significantly reducing the cost base,’ adding Eidos reduced its costs by £9m in the past financial year.
More on this at www.accountancyage.com /Business/1118484.