It has been while since we reported on news of Index Corporation’s rehabilitation. So, take this document as a recap of what has happened so far.
Back at the end of June, Index, the parent of company of video game company Atlus, filed for a streamlined version of bankruptcy called “rehabilitation.” The company had a listed debt of 24.5 billion yen (roughly $248.7 million USD). Since then, the courts have approved their filing and allowed them to proceed, with auctions starting at the end of July. In addition, the Osaka-based stock exchange JASDAQ has delisted the company as of July 28th. On the same day, Index Chairman Masami Ochiai and CEO Yoshimi Ochiai resigned.
The auction began a couple weeks ago with Index seeking as much as 15 billion yen ($155.5 million USD) in a sale. Within the first week as many as 20 companies came forward with interest in buying the company. This list of companies includes Sega Sammy Holdings, one of a few companies that was rumored to be in play for Index when we last reported on the proceedings. Sega also has been acting as a distributor for Atlus games in Japan. The bids have been as high as 20 billion yen ($207.4 million USD), 5 billion more than expected.
Late last week, it was reported by Bloomberg that J Trust Co., a Japanese financial service, is looking to bid on Index. The company, which is 5% owned by investment banking firm Goldman Sachs Group, has roughly 130 billion yen ($1.3 billion USD), with 97.7 billion yen coming from a rights offer this past month, to spend on takeover bids. Index Corporation is one of the companies they are looking at.
From the looks of things, J Trust wants to tap into the mobile gaming market with Index. From Bloomberg’s report:
” ‘It’s a good idea to buy companies that do communication and application businesses for smartphones and tap their client bases to market our financial services,’ Fujisawa said on Aug. 5, citing the successes of online retailer Rakuten Inc. and Yahoo Japan Corp. They ‘started as providers of Internet services and grew bigger by attracting existing customers into their financial businesses.’ ”
Bidding will continue through August. A final decision is expected at the end of the month.
