Square Enix has denied reports that it’s selling itself off, nor has it received any acquisition offers, the Japanese publisher clarified today.
This week, Bloomberg Japan reported that several interested parties were interested in snapping up the JRPG maker, citing “two bank officials familiar with the situation”. News of an acquisition seemed solid enough that Square Enix’ stock rose 13.8% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange earlier today.
A few hours later, Square shot those rumours down with an official statement. No, the Final Fantasy company isn’t for sale—and nobody’s approached it with an offer.
“We do not consider selling off the company or any part of its businesses, nor have we received any offer from any third party to acquire the company or any part of its businesses,” Square Enix said in a statement (via Bloomberg).
Square Enix being acquired would be a big shock. But it wouldn’t be entirely out of the question. After all, Bethesda (a similarly-sized RPG giant) was recently snapped up by Microsoft for a toasty $7.5 billion, and the Xbox firm was among the shortlist of companies rumoured to be looking to buy Square Enix.