Sony becomes Kadokawa Corporation's largest shareholder

by Danny Craig · 12/19/24, 11:29 AM
Sony becomes Kadokawa Corporation's largest shareholder
Bandai Namco

Sony is now the largest shareholder of Kadokawa Corporation, which owns a number of game studios such as FromSoftware, as well as a large anime and manga business. This comes after the companies were discussing a potential acquisition.

The details:

  • Last month, it was revealed that Sony and Kadokawa were in talks about a possible acquisition, which would have made Sony an even bigger player in the anime industry and the sole owner of various game studios. While the deal had not yet been finalized, Kadokawa employees were reportedly excited about the possibility due to ongoing management issues.

  • In a new press release, Sony announced that it has not fully acquired the company, but has increased its ownership stake to 10%, making it the largest shareholder. The deal is described as a "strategic capital and business alliance," with the total cost of the shares estimated to be around 50 billion JPY. Chinese tech giant Tencent remains Kadokawa's second largest shareholder, owning 6.86%.

  • The partnership is expected to allow the adaptation of Kadokawa's IPs into other forms of media such as live-action films and TV dramas, as well as both companies to co-produce anime, assist in game publishing, and "develop human resources to promote and expand virtual production."

  • Sony currently owns the IPs for Bloodborne and Demon's Souls, while FromSoftware still retains ownership of Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and Sekiro. The agreement could pave the way for adaptations of any of the franchises, or even the much-anticipated remaster or current-gen upgrade of Bloodborne.

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