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Sony and Kadokawa have decided to team up in a “strategic capital and business alliance,” as revealed in their joint announcement made on Thursday.
Looking ahead to January 7, 2025, Sony is set to become Kadokawa’s largest shareholder. They plan to acquire 12,054,100 new shares from Kadokawa for a whopping 50 billion yen, roughly $320 million. When added to their previous share acquisition from February 2021, Sony’s stake in Kadokawa will climb to 10% of the company.
Expressing his enthusiasm, Takeshi Natsuno, Kadokawa’s chief operating officer, remarked, “We’re thrilled to finalize this strategic partnership with Sony. This agreement promises not only to enhance our ability to create intellectual properties but also broadens our options for expanding these properties globally with Sony’s support. We believe this will significantly boost the value of our IP and bolster our corporate value over the medium to long term. We are fully committed to ensuring our collaboration with Sony succeeds in the global market.”
This announcement comes shortly after Kadokawa acknowledged a report by Reuters noting Sony’s interest in potentially acquiring Kadokawa outright. In the gaming universe, such a move suggested Kadokawa’s gaming subsidiary, FromSoftware, might provide games exclusively for Sony’s PlayStation. However, beyond gaming, Sony would also gain a solid presence in the manga and anime sectors, areas where Kadokawa has a commanding influence.
As for their collaborative plans, Sony and Kadokawa aim to translate Kadokawa properties into live-action films and TV shows while expanding the global reach of Kadokawa’s current products. Though this partnership doesn’t rule out a future acquisition by Sony, an update directed at Sony’s investors has indicated there won’t be additional stock acquisitions for now.
Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, expressed his thoughts in the news release, saying, “By becoming Kadokawa’s largest shareholder, we are acquiring a large array of IP, encompassing everything from publications and books—like light novels and comics—to games and anime. By merging Kadokawa’s rich IP ecosystem with Sony’s strengths in global entertainment expansion, such as anime and games, we’re poised to jointly advance Kadokawa’s ‘Global Media Mix’ strategy. This aligns perfectly with Sony’s long-term goal, our ‘Creative Entertainment Vision.’”
