Bloomberg News is reporting that Japanese toy giant Bandai Co. Ltd. has agreed to buy videogame maker Namco in a deal worth about 175.3 billion yen (about $1.7 billion) in cash and stock.  If the acquisition is approved at a June stockholders meeting Namco shareholders will receive one share of the new Bandai/Namco entity and Bandai stockholders will get 1.5 shares of the merged companies for every current share of Bandai.  The new company will become Japan's second-largest maker of toys and videogame software behind only Sega Sammy Holdings. 

Bandai Co. Ltd. is the parent company of anime studios Bandai Visual and Sunrise as well as the parent of two key American subsidiaries Bandai America (toys) and Bandai Entertainment (anime and a soon-to-be-announced manga line).