Namco revealed that it has sent a notice to Sega today, giving the company until May 9 to respond to the merger proposal. Namco said that it has already been half a month since it proposed a merger with Sega and that its first priority is to clarify each company's stance for the sake of stability in their businesses. Namco originally began talks with Sega on a merger in late 2001, but talks were halted by a request from Sega. In early February this year Sega revealed its plans for a merger with Sammy, but in mid-April Namco sent a proposal to reopen talks of a merger before Sega and Sammy made their final decisions to merge.
Sega is in the middle of deciding what to do about the current situation and has been hoping to make a final decision after it analyzes Sammy's financial assets early this month.