Redstone Shows interest in Midway Stock

This article comes from Highwaygames.com

Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone is showing interest in securing control over Midway (which is also being looked at closely by Sega and Microsoft).

Redstone, who currently owns 25 percent share of Midway may try to stop 3rd party interests from Sega and Microsoft by buying a controlling interest in the company. Midway shares are currently at US$9, down significantly from its full-year high of $24.

As ZDNet's Gamespot reports;

"Like many other companies in the video game industry Midway is in the midst of a financial slump as the industry transitions to next-generation consoles - the company expects to lose 52 cents a share in the fiscal 2001. However, it has fifteen games in development for the Sony PlayStation 2 and will continue its support of the Sega Dreamcast. The company also expects to strongly support the Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube platforms. With recognizable franchises such as Ready 2 Rumble, NBA Showtime, NFL Blitz, and Mortal Kombat the company is expected to recover and report strong earnings by 2002, which also makes it a viable target for acquisition at its current stock price."