In November of this year, it was reported that a union between Sony and Kadokawa Corporation was in the works. Now, the deal has been completed that will see Sony Group Corporation taking a large stake in the company that has been responsible for games from From Software like Elden Ring and Bloodborne and countless anime franchises such as Oshi No Ko, Konosuba, and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. While the companies have worked on projects in the past, Sony will now have a much larger hand in Kadokawa moving forward according to a new press release that signaled the formation of a “strategic capital and business alliance.”
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The new partnership will see Sony acquiring ten percent of Kadokawa’s shares, making it the largest shareholder for the company that has been known for its video games, anime, and other entertainment offerings. When it comes to what this union means in the future, the press release stated that this collaboration will result in “initiatives to adapt KADOKAWA’s IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-produce anime works, expand global distribution of KADOKAWA’s anime works through the Sony Group, further expand publishing of KADOKAWA’s games, and develop human resources to promote and expand virtual production.”
[RELATED: Sony Acquiring Kadokawa Could Lead to Troubling Anime Monopoly]
Sony & Kadokawa Speak
Of course, both companies were more than willing to talk publicly about the moves that were made in the partnership. The CEO of Kadokaw Corporate, Takeshi Natsuno, released the following statement, “We are very pleased to conclude this capital and business alliance agreement with Sony. This alliance is expected to not only further strengthen our IP creation capabilities, but also increase our IP media mix options with Sony’s support for global expansion, allowing us to deliver our IP to more users around the world. We are confident that this will greatly contribute to maximizing the value of our IP and increasing our corporate value in the mid- to long-term. We intend to do our utmost to ensure that our collaborative efforts with Sony produce great results in the global market.”
On the other side of the equation, President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki dug deeper into Sony becoming the majority shareholder within Kadakowa, “Through this capital and business alliance, we will become the largest shareholder of KADOKAWA, which consistently creates a wide variety of IP, including publications and books, such as light novels and comics, as well as games and anime. By combining KADOKAWA’s extensive IP and IP creation ecosystem with the strengths of Sony, which has promoted the global expansion of a wide range of entertainment, including anime and games, we plan to work closely together to realize KADOKAWA’s ‘Global Media Mix’ strategy, aimed at maximizing the value of its IP, and Sony’s long-term vision, ‘Creative Entertainment Vision.’”
Want to stay up to date on this anime union that might shake up the industry in the future? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for all the latest updates on both Sony and Kadokawa and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
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