Following the previous reports, Sony and KADOKAWA CORPORATION announced today that they have agreed to form a strategic capital and business alliance. As part of the agreement, Sony will acquire 12,054,100 new KADOKAWA shares for approximately 50 billion yen (~$319 million USD) through a third-party allotment on January 7, 2025. According to the joint press release, this acquisition will make Sony KADOKAWA’s largest shareholder, holding approximately 10% of the company’s shares (up from the 2% previously acquired in 2021).
The press release also highlights the alliance’s goal to “further strengthen our collaboration to maximize both companies’ IP value globally and facilitate wider and deeper collaboration.” Specific initiatives include joint investments, co-production of live-action movies and anime, global distribution of KADOKAWA’s works through Sony, and further promotion of both companies’ intellectual properties (IP) worldwide.
Takeshi Natsuno, Chief Executive Officer, KADOKAWA CORPORATION:
“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.”
Hiroki Totoki, President, COO and CFO, Sony Group Corporation:
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.’
KADOKAWA CORPORATION was founded in 1945 as Kadokawa Shoten, and it is today a giant in Japan’s entertainment industry, with major presence in publishing (particularly light novels and manga), anime, and gaming. Some of their biggest titles include Re:ZERO: Starting Life in Another World, Overlord, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, No Game No Life, Spice and Wolf, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, among others. Notably, they recently acquired studio Doga Kobo.
When it comes to gaming, Kadokawa Games has titles like Demon Gaze and Root Letter, and the company is the parent company of FromSoftware, the developer of Elden Ring and Dark Souls. Kadokawa own 69.66% of its shares, with Sixjoy Hong Kong (16.25%) and Sony Interactive Entertainment (14.09%) owning the rest of it.
Sony Group Corporation was founded in 1946. It has long been a global leader in entertainment and technology, particularly strong in gaming and music, but also in the anime and film industries. Through its subsidiary Aniplex (a division of Sony Music Entertainment Japan), Sony has produced and distributed anime hits like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Fate/Stay Night, Sword Art Online, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, among many others. Aniplex also oversees studios like A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks.
Sony acquired Crunchyroll in 2021 and later merged it with Funimation, further cementing its presence. In May 2024, the company announced a plan to establish an academy with Aniplex and Crunchyroll to train anime creators.
In gaming, Sony has always been a giant with its PlayStation brand. Some of their titles include The Last of Us, God of War, Uncharted, Spider-Man, and Horizon. These are developed by their studios such as Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, and Insomniac Games.
Source: Official Press Release
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