Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said Tuesday it will purchase an 18.6 percent stake in Square Co. for about 14.9 billion yen in a third-party share allotment by the game software maker.
Square will issue 1.2 million new shares and Sony Computer will buy them for 1,330 yen per share with payment set for Oct. 26, Sony Computer said.
Square developed "Final Fantasy" for Sony Computer's PlayStation game machines, but revenue has been disappointing.
The companies aim to strengthen their competitiveness through the capital tieup to cope with competition in the game software market from Microsoft Corp. of the United States, analysts said.