Report: Sega in the running for Atlus bid

Sega Sammy Holdings is allegedly one of roughly 20 companies aiming to buy Japanese publisher and developer Atlus from Index Corporation, Bloomberg Japan reports (as translated by Gematsu.)

Bidding has reportedly reached 20 billion yen, around $203 million, which is higher than the 15 billion yen bids initially expected by parent company Index Corporation. According to sources close to Bloomberg, a deal is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Index filed for bankruptcy in June. The company is said to owe debts of 24.5 billion yen, or roughly $224 million. Last month a representative for Atlus told Polygon the company's "day to day is unaffected and our games are still shipping." Upcoming PlayStation 3 and Vita role-playing game Dragon's Crown will ship on time.