Jane Cavanagh, formerly an executive for
British Telecom's
Telecomsoft division, founded The Sales Curve in 1988, following a trip to Japan that convinced her of the potential of the
video game industry. Cavanagh established and ran the company without external funding, and owned 100% of the company's shares. The Sales Curve published its games under the label Storm and was renamed SCi (Sales Curve Interactive) in 1994. Its parent company, SCi Entertainment, floated on the
Alternative Investment Market in 1996. In February 2004, the company acquired
Pivotal Games. In October 2004, SCi announced publishing agreements of its games for the
Gizmondo handheld. In January 2005, SCi invested in
Rocksteady Studios, acquiring 25.1% of the company's shares.
Eidos takeover In April 2005, SCi entered into a bid for Eidos plc, the parent company of
Eidos Interactive. Eidos was acquired by SCi in May 2005, and fully merged with SCi by June 2006 with the Eidos brand used for all future games. Following Eidos' acquisition, all executives of the acquired company resigned, and were replaced by SCi's management. In October 2005, SCi employed around 600 people. By February 2006, it was the largest video game company in Britain, when
Robert Tchenguiz's Thorson Investments owned a 14.6% stake after acquiring a holding from Robert Bonnier. In December 2006,
Warner Bros. started investing in SCi in exchange for granting game licences to Warner Bros. films to SCi. Warner Bros. owned 10.3% in September 2007. In July 2006, Cavanagh stepped down as
chairwoman of SCi, while remaining
chief executive officer (CEO). She was replaced by Tim Ryan, formerly
non-executive director, as non-executive chairman of the board. Following their departure, SCi's shares doubled in value. At the time, SCi had 900 employees. which was finalised the following day. During 2008, the company raised £60 million at 35p a share. Warner Bros Entertainment increased its stake to 30 per cent of shares. Eidos shareholders approved the acquisition by
Square Enix on 27 March 2009 at 32p a share, a valuation of just over £84 million. At that point, Warner's share had decreased to 20 per cent, but 35 per cent of total shareholding were on the backing part of the offer. Eidos was absorbed by Square Enix together in November of that year. == List of games ==