Index Cooperation has gone bankrupt and is selling off it's subsidiaries in an upcoming auction. Its possible ATLUS will be auctioned. ATLUS is a fairly well known Japanese developer that mainly makes JRPGS such as the Souls games, the Shin Megami Tensei series and the popular Persona series.
Companies that could realistically be interested in buying ATLUS:
1. Nintendo- Lately ATLUS has been releasing a lot of games on Nintendo platforms. ATLUS has released three games on the 3DS this year alone and with one more coming in October. They are also working on a Shin Megami Tensei cross Fire Emblem game with Nintendo for the Wii U. Nintendo would be a good fit but there are other companies that could buy them as well. I think Nintendo will buy ATLUS but we will see.
2. Sony- Sony would also be a great fit for ATLUS. Last year ATLUS released Vita title Persona 4 Golden and Persona 4 Arena for PS3 (although it was also on xbox 360). In the past ATLUS has had many games exclusively on Sony consoles and handhelds.
3. Square Enix- Its possible Square Enix could buy ATLUS but I don't think it would be a good fit. It might seem like a good idea but I don't think they would use them right. They would probably make a bunch of mobile games ( I could see them doing something stupid like Persona Mobile edition or something) or something else stupid. I don't think they would know what to do with ATLUS.
Chances are Nintendo or Sony will probably get ATLUS (assuming its auctioned) but Square Enix could sneak up on everyone. Its extremely unlikely western developers like Microsoft or Activation will buy them.
sources:
http://mynintendonews.com/2013/07/22/nintendo-to-acquire-atlus-in-parent-company-bankruptcy-auction/ http://wiiudaily.com/2013/07/atlus-for-sale-rumor/
