Sony has announced that they will become the largest shareholder of Kadokawa in January 7. Specifically, Sony as a shareholder will have a 10% stake of Kadokawa, with 12,054,100 shares. It is currently unknown if Sony will go on to officially acquire the company. In the press release, they state the following:
“KADOKAWA and Sony historically have collaborated on various projects, and through this capital and business alliance, intend to further strengthen our collaboration to maximize both companies’ IP value globally and facilitate wider and deeper collaboration, such as potential joint investments in the content field, joint discovery of new creators, and joint promotion of further media mixes of both companies’ IP.
In the future, the two companies plan to discuss specific initiatives for collaboration, such as 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.”
Kadokawa is known for several anime franchises such as Bungo Stray Dogs, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Date A Live, and countless others. Additionally, they also own video game companies, namely From Software.
From Software has worked on beloved titles such as Game of the Year award winners Elden Ring and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. They’ve also worked on Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and the Armored Core franchise. Only time will tell if this deal will go any further than Sony having a majority share of the multimedia company.
