Tomb Raider, Hitman and Kan & Lynch publisher (and owner of Eidos), Sci saw its share price plummet by 53% (73p from £1.35 to 62p) on Friday following the news that its potential acquisition had been called off.

On Friday, January 11th, the company issued a statement saying that, "the Board no longer believes that a sale of the Company for its full value is likely to be achieved at the current time..."

The latest share information on its own website reports a further drop to 59.5p.

Despite announcing gloomy end of year figures for 2006/2007 in September last year, Sci has also invested heavily in overseas (Canada) development studios. As CEO Jane Cavanagh pointed out the company is, "building long-term value. We have made significant investments in the year to increase and broaden our product pipeline, improve the long-term efficiency of our development studios and grow our New Media business."

Now, while Friday's share-price news is obviously awful if you currently own shares in the company (or if you're Warner Brothers - which owns 10.3% of the organisation), the intellectual properties and assets owned by Sci/Eidos must surely make it a tasty take-over target.

^{See also:
Forbes
Variety}