Eidos faces investigation as shares tumble

Eidos? troubles worsened this week with a further collapse in its share price in the wake of allegations that dealings in its shares were being investigated by City regulators.

According to reports, Jersey-based companies were buying and selling Eidos shares prior to price-sensitive announcements made by the company. But Eidos insisted that the problems were under control and were ?a City thing?.

Neither the Stock Exchange nor the company would confirm details of the investigation, although CEO Charles Cornwall admitted the company?s share dealings had previously been investigated. The shares have fallen from more than #10 in February to 480p on 18 August.

Eidos recorded a pre-tax loss of #4.9 million and sales of #9.4 million for its first quarter, ended 30 June. However, it insisted it would hit its pre-tax profit prediction of #16 million for the year. The company said the losses were expected, attributing them to the high cost of developing games for Christmas, the traditional summer slump in sales and the strength of the pound.

Two weeks ago, Eidos was dropped by auditor Coopers & Lybrand because of its failure to follow government guidelines (PC Dealer, 13 August).