Eidos confirms sale negotiations still in progress

British publisher Eidos has informed shareholders that talks over a sale of the company are still in progress, while Championship Manager 5 has now officially slipped past Christmas and into 2005.

The company issued a trading update today revealing a number of details about the company's performance in recent months, including the fact that due diligence is currently being performed with a number of "potential acquirers".

"The board is pursuing this process with the utmost vigour and with the objective of securing an acceptable offer for the company," the statement reads. "It is our intention to bring this process to a satisfactory conclusion as soon as possible."

The statement also revealed that Championship Manager 5, the first game in the popular series since Eidos parted company with veteran developer Sports Interactive, has now slipped into 2005.

The game, which had originally been scheduled to launch in October in direct competition to Sports Interactive's new title, Football Manager 2005, is now scheduled for the second half of the financial year, which runs through to June 30th.

It will join a strong line-up of titles in the second half for the company, including updates to the Hitman, Commandos and Tomb Raider franchises which are scheduled for the fourth quarter.

Eidos also announced today that ShellShock: Nam '67, which launched in September, has proved to be a major success for the firm, shipping over 800,000 units and exceeding the company's original forecasts for the title, with work on a sequel already underway.