Sony invests $318 million in Kadokawa to form “business alliance” with Japanese corporation
Sony has strengthened its partnership with Kadokawa by increasing its stake in the corporation. This comes amid reports of a potential acquisition.
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According to the official announcement, Sony will acquire 12,054,100 new shares of Kadokawa for around ¥50 billion ($318.49 million). Once the transaction is completed on January 7, 2025, Sony will become Kadokawa’s largest shareholder with a 10% stake.
Prior to this deal, the PlayStation maker already owned 2% of Kadokawa, as well as 14.09% of FromSoftware.
The companies will now form a “capital and business alliance” to maximize their IP value globally. They also plan to discuss specific collaborations, such as:
- Joint investments and discovery of new creators;
- Adaptation of Kadokawa’s IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally;
- Co-production of anime works and expansion of global distribution of Kadokawa’s anime works through the Sony Group;
- Expansion of publishing of Kadokawa’s games.
“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,” Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno said in a statement. “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.”
First reports that Sony was considering a potential acquisition of Kadokawa emerged last month. Kadokawa then confirmed that it had received an “initial letter of intent” to acquire its shares. It is unclear whether Sony has changed its mind about purchasing the entire corporation or whether the new investment is just a step towards a larger deal.
