Sega bids on Atlus parent company

Sega Sammy is bidding on the financially troubled parent company of Atlus. Bloomberg Japan (via VentureBeat) reports that the house of Sonic is pursuing Index Corp., which among other operations owns Persona and Shin Megami Tensei developer/publisher Atlus.

Index Corp. was opened for bids after entering civil rehabilitation, the Japanese equivalent of bankruptcy protection. The bids reportedly came to around $200 million by the end of the auction last week, and Index will choose a buyer by the end of August.

Atlus also publishes external games, like VanillaWare's Dragon's Crown, and Index Corp.'s other operations include an animation and film studio.

Sega's reduced its internal operations over the last year to focus on its core franchises. On the other hand, it acquired Company of Heroes 2 developer Relic Entertainment in THQ's bankruptcy auction.

Looks like Sega doesn't mind hitting the thrift stores and estate sales to pick up development talent. We'll know more about Index Corp. and Atlus' fate by the end of the month.