CAPCOM NOW OPEN TO BUYOUTA Capcom announced today that it will not be renewing its takeover defense, and is now open to a buyout, should a third party company buy a large enough share of Capcom stock. ADVERTISEMENT Up until now, Capcom's takeover defense, which was originally instituted in 20 08, has kept any company from acquiring Capcom directly through its shareholde rs. This method, known as a hostile takeover, is now possible following the sh areholders' decision not to renew the countermeasure. The company said it "will react to take steps to ensure disclosure of the posi tion of the board of directors," and also make sure "there is sufficient time for shareholders to examine the proposed large-scale purchase and reach a deci sion." In April, Capcom began construction on its second research and development cen ter in Osaka, Japan after乸nnouncing a $78 million plan濳o expand and increase focus on internal game development. The plan also included hiring 100 new dev elopers per year, in the hopes of having 2,500 on staff by 2022. As for existing Capcom developers, Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono an nounced yesterday that温e is leaving Capcom Vancouver, where he most recently worked on Dead Rising 3. Although it's unclear whether Ono is leaving Capcom c ompletely, he did say he needed time to濳hink about his next step.