SEGA’s timeline of acquisitions and sales

SEGA made history yesterday when it spent more than $140 million to acquire Index Holdings, the parent company of popular Japanese developer Atlus.

However, this certainly wasn’t the first time SEGA has made a big splash by purchasing a company. Throughout its history, SEGA has made many notable and surprising acquisitions and even shockingly sold off some of its most beloved development studios. This timeline represents these acquisitions and sales throughout the company’s history.

	Event Date	Event Title	Event Description
	31st Mar, 1998	SEGA relinquishes SEGA Ozisoft	In 1990, Ozisoft was the largest international software distrubutor in Australia and released many SEGA consoles in the country, including the SEGA Genesis. On April 15, 2002, months after SEGA relinquished controlling interest in Ozisoft, the company was aquired by Infogrames and renamed Infogrames Australia. It is now owned by Namco Bandai.
	9th Dec, 2003	Sammy purchases 22.4% of SEGA for $419 million	News linkSammy Corp. spends $419 million from CSK Corp. to become SEGA’s largest shareholder. Under Japanese law, a majority stockholder needs at least a 33 percent stake to have decision-making power.
	24th Jan, 2005	SEGA sells Visual Concepts	News linkSEGA sells Visual Concepts and Kush Games to Take-Two Interactive for $24 million. Visual Concepts was most notable for developing SEGA’s 2K sports line-up.
	9th Mar, 2005	SEGA purchases Creative Assembly	News linkSEGA purchases Creative Assembly for $30 million. Notable titles include Total War.”As our first developer acquisition in the West since we became a publisher it clearly demonstrates that we have set our sights on working with the very best talent in the industry,” said SEGA Europe and SEGA of America CEO Naoya Tsurumi.
	4th Apr, 2006	SEGA acquires Secret Level	News linkSEGA purchases Secret Level for $15 million. Notable titles include Star Wars Jedi Starfighter.“On the heels of our first, successful studio acquisition with The Creative Assembly, the addition of this development powerhouse further moves SEGA toward its goal of becoming a leading next-generation publisher,” said Naoya Tsurumi, SEGA of America and Sega Europe CEO.
	4th Apr, 2006	SEGA acquires Sports Interactive	News linkSEGA purchases Football Manager Sports Interactive to add to its growing acquisitions of Western developers.The SEGA Europe and SEGA America CEO Naoya Tsurumi said the addition of Football Manager and Sports Interactive “illustrates that we are achieving our objectives and have our strategic planning up and running.”
	17th Nov, 2011	SEGA purchases Three Rings	News linkSEGA purchases Three Rings, notable titles include Spiral Knights, Doctor Who: Worlds in Time.”Today brings to a close a ten year journey as an independent developer, and opens a new chapter for the studio as a part of the SEGA family,” said Daniel James, Three Rings CEO.
	23rd Jan, 2013	SEGA purchases Relic Entertainment	News linkSEGA purchases Relic Entertainment for $26.6 million in THQ auction. Notable titles include Company of Heroes.“We are thrilled to have Relic Entertainment join the SEGA family. The acquisition is a strategic fit and a critical step in growing our business,” John Cheng, President and CFO, SEGA of America said.
	17th Sep, 2013	SEGA purchases Index Holdings	News linkSEGA purchases Atlus parent company Index Holdings for $141 million. Notable titles include Persona.