Sony Sells its Square Enix Stock

[StewShearerOld]

Sony Sells its Square Enix Stock

Sony has sold all of its 9.52 million Square Enix shares to SMBC Nikko Securities for ¥4.8 billion.

Not too long ago there was an era where playing a Square Enix (or Squaresoft, at least) game pretty much meant buying Sony gaming hardware. In fact, the original PlayStation was an arguably JRPG behemoth thanks in no small part to Square's numerous quality releases for the system. That being the case, those days are pretty much past and the bond between the two companies is nowhere near what it used to be.

That in mind, it's hard not to see some sort of symbolism in Sony's recent decision to sell the entirety of its Square Enix stock. The sale, which ill net the company a reported ¥4.8 billion ($47 million), will move all of Sony's 9.52 shares into the hands of SMBC Nikko Securities which paid . Sony's Square Enix stake, which dates back to the early 2000s, represents about 8.2 percent of the total available shares.

Sony has offered no official reason behind the sale but some have surmised that this may just be another step in the company's ongoing plan to return to simplify its business and return to higher profit margins. This would be the same plan that led the company to <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132524-Sony-Closing-Two-Thirds-of-U-S-Sony-Stores>cut 5,000 jobs earlier this year and sell both its <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121592-Sony-Selling-U-S-Headquarters>U.S. and <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-02-28-sony-corp-outlines-further-cuts>Tokyo office properties $2.3 billion dollars in 2013. We have reached out to Square Enix to see if the company has official take on the sale.

Source: <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-04-16-sony-sells-all-square-enix-stock>GamesIndustry International

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[SilverStuddedSquirre]

Looks like somebody at SONY finally played an installment of Final Fantasy after X.

 

[omega 616]

I like to think they sold up due to the earlier story that square enix went all in on DRM is good thing. It's like some dating site saying "stop using firefox 'cos the CEO is anti-gay rights" and firefox responds by getting rid of the CEO (whether by hook or by crook).

It's like Sony went "they support DRM? Sell that stock yesterday!" trying to put distance between themselves and squeenix.

 

[dangoball]

Square Enix claims DRM is here to stay, earns scorn of gamers everywhere!

In unrelated new: Sony no longer wants to have any connections with Square Enix.

I know these two things are most likely completely unrelated and that this deal was probably long in the making but the coincidence is just too funny.

 

[Uratoh]

Square Enix claims DRM is here to stay, earns scorn of gamers everywhere!

In unrelated new: Sony no longer wants to have any connections with Square Enix.

I know these two things are most likely completely unrelated and that this deal was probably long in the making but the coincidence is just too funny.

ya, corporations move too slowly for this to be a reaction to the DRM thing, but the timing is hillarious.

 

[Someone Depressing]

I hope Sony doesn't lose it and make everyday Silly Sock Sunday. (I imagine that's pretty crazy for Sony)

But it makes sense that Sony doesn't want to have much connection with Square.. I mean, would you? For every good game they make or publish, they make so many good decisions. Like a Killer7 to 50 Daikatanas.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I bet this is more connected to Squenix not having made very much money in the last five years, even if the timing is hilarious. No point holding onto all those shares if there's no prospect of rise in value or dividends.

 

[RandV80]

Yeah seems like it's a corporate thing from Sony's end, combined with likely poor performance of Square Enix stock. With Square taking the plunge with cross-platform FF last gen though I really hope they'll open up to PC/Steam releases with their JRPGs. Don't see any good reason not to really, if they aren't staying exclusive to Playstation. I can't see a way in which FFXV or Kingdom Hearts 3 on Steam doesn't simply equal more sales and greater profit.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

Looks like Sony can tell what direction the wind is blowing. Squeenix have absolutely run their name (once a byword for quality, creativity, epicness and ambition) into the ground over the last few years and are well on their way to becoming a joke. It's tragic, but inevitable.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Ouch. That hurts. I've been playing Square games since Final Fantasy VII. I grew up with them, as I'm sure many people here did. To hear this hurts, even if Square hasn't been at the top of their game for some time. This feels like saying good-bye to a friend.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well now... This is...not really that surprising. Really, you say things that everyone will hate...and then you wonder why you don't have anymore friends. Let's call this an object lesson, hmm?

 

[vagabondwillsmile]

Upon reading the headline, my immediate thought was: "Nintendo, now is the time...". But the shares were sold in full to a single buyer. Here's hoping Square Enix gets back to basics and reinvigorates itself with solid gameplay, interesting stories and inventive worlds (that DRM thing, though is another matter...). Bravely Default certainly would be evidence that they are capable.

 

[Deathfish15]

Why didn't Sony do the very smart thing and instead just sell off/cut it's entire VAIOS, TV, and a few other of it's departments too? The only things coming out of Sony that are grabbing the interest of consumers is the Play Stations and games (for both PC and their own system).


I remember having a Sony Walkman back in the day.....no, not the CD kind, the cassette tape (Google it, kids) player. Great quality electronic that basically cornered the market at the time. When we transitioned into the CD era, they basically owned that too with the newest Walkman series. But when MP3 and digital quickly took over, they lost big thanks to Apple and a few others (no, not Microsoft and its Zune).

It's at that time that they should have stopped trying to take over different markets. Why did they want to push into family PCs when it was dominated by Dell and HP? Why go into TVs when there was Samsung, Sanyo, LG, Coby, Toshiba, Sharp, Phillips, etc? Why oh why are they spending money on creating smartphones when there is market bloat?!

Basically as said up top they need to shell all those mentioned departments and focus on what they know.

 

[Strazdas]

ya, corporations move too slowly for this to be a reaction to the DRM thing, but the timing is hillarious.

well, squeenix was going under for years now. even in the corporation world i feel they moved too slow and lost because of it.

Why didn't Sony do the very smart thing and instead just sell off/cut it's entire VAIOS, TV, and a few other of it's departments too? The only things coming out of Sony that are grabbing the interest of consumers is the Play Stations and games (for both PC and their own system).

not entirely true. Sonys phone department has been coming up green and their movies are making money too. i do agree that they shoudl cut the TVs and othet departments, but you want Japanese comapny to abandon the market that raised them? yeah not gonna happen.

Upon reading the headline, my immediate thought was: "Nintendo, now is the time...".

Nintendo is smarter than to buy a sinking boat.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

Upon reading the headline, my immediate thought was: "Nintendo, now is the time...".

Nintendo is smarter than to buy a sinking boat.

Besides...if they buy anything, they should try to acquire the Megaman IP. You know...much in the same way people buy abandoned storage lockers to make money, Nintendo should buy this property that Capcom all but abandoned. (Especially since Nintendo by way of Sakurai by way of SSB showed more love for Megaman via the "Screw Capcom Laser" that was Megaman's Final Smash.)

 

[alj]

Valve should by them and then port ALL final fantasy games to steam OS .

 

[Vault101]

not entirely true. Sonys phone department has been coming up green and their movies are making money too. i do agree that they shoudl cut the TVs and othet departments, but you want Japanese comapny to abandon the market that raised them? yeah not gonna happen.

what TV shows have been under the sony name?

[quote/]
Nintendo is smarter than to buy a sinking boat.[/quote]

then what might this mean for say....Tomb Raider...or Deus Ex

I guess they are "only" the publisher

 

[Strazdas]

not entirely true. Sonys phone department has been coming up green and their movies are making money too. i do agree that they shoudl cut the TVs and othet departments, but you want Japanese comapny to abandon the market that raised them? yeah not gonna happen.

what TV shows have been under the sony name?

[quote/]
Nintendo is smarter than to buy a sinking boat.

then what might this mean for say....Tomb Raider...or Deus Ex

I guess they are "only" the publisher[/quote]
Not sure where i mentioned TV shows. Sony has an entertainment department that makes movies. They also ahve a department that make TVs (as in, the physical TVs). You may have mixed that with TV shows?

For Tomb Rider, it would mean a well deserved rest.
For Deus Ex, i dont know, i never played any of them.

 

[KingdomFantasyXIII]

I bet this is more connected to Squenix not having made very much money in the last five years, even if the timing is hilarious. No point holding onto all those shares if there's no prospect of rise in value or dividends.

Actually, the financial years have been more up and down

Fiscal year 2009
http://www.1up.com/news/square-enix-achieves-record-profits

Fiscal Year 2010
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/03/square-enix-profits-plummet-but-loss-avoided-to-close-out-2010/

Fiscal Year 2011
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/square-enix-sees-6-billion-yen-profit-in-fiscal-2012-thanks-to-d/

Fiscal Year 2012
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/square-enix-posts-134m-fiscal-net-loss-projects-profit-for-com/

Fiscal Year 2014
http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/5/5381734/square-enix-q3-2014-earnings-returning-to-profitability
http://www.vg247.com/2014/02/05/square-enix-fiscal-year-profits-driven-by-final-fantasy-xiv-relaunch/

You can follow it here:
http://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/

The actual reason why Sony is selling off is because
Taken from NeoGaf

"From what I remember, Sony made an equity investment in square around the time spirits within tanked; it was almost a good will gesture to help the company raise some additional capital when they needed it. I believe the shares were nonvoting. That is important. After the se merger, sony's ownership position was diluted and remained functionally irrelevant (since it was nonvoting). "

They are better selling it since the stocks serves no purpose anymore. They are just wasted money if they stay where they are collecting dust.

 

[Vault101]

For Tomb Rider, it would mean a well deserved rest.
.

well thats one way of putting it

I do worry for the sequel she's going to come across a dark and broody version of nathan drake and they'll do the [i/]"were kind of fighting enemies and whoops! no were not! lets fall in love"[/i] thiing

[sub/]if that didn't happen it wont harm the illusion that Lara and Sam are lovers...because they are..shut up[/sub]