In an interesting twist, Capcom’s shareholders have voted to end their takeover defense. Set up in 2008, the takeover defense was a series of strategies designed to prevent outside companies from buying up a majority of Capcom’s stock, but shareholders voted against renewing it at their latest investor’s meeting, which opens the company up for potential buyers.
This by no means signifies an end to Capcom as a third party developer – an outside company would still have to pay a hefty sum to acquire over 50% of Capcom’s stock – but it’s now a distinct possibility. Capcom is no longer the lucrative giant it once was, but any potential buyers would gain exclusive rights to important franchises like Street Fighter, Ace Attorney, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Mega Man, and many more. What company, if any, will make them an offer they can’t refuse?