Following a wave of speculation, on December 18, 2024, Sony Corporation and KADOKAWA Corporation officially announced their strategic partnership, where Sony will acquire a 10% stake in KADOKAWA. This significant agreement, scheduled to take effect on January 7, 2025, positions Sony as KADOKAWA’s most substantial shareholder, purchasing 12,054,100 shares at an estimated value of 50 billion yen.
This partnership builds upon the previous collaborations between these two industry giants and establishes a “capital and business alliance”focused on enhancing their combined intellectual properties (IPs) on a global scale. The primary objective is to bolster the international success of both companies’ IPs, with a particular emphasis on anime, while extending benefits to live-action films and video games.
Sony Steps in as KADOKAWA’s Major Shareholder
A New Era for Anime
Both companies are already formidable forces in the anime industry, and this alliance is set to stir the existing dynamics. The press release highlighted plans that include adapting KADOKAWA’s IPs into live-action movies and television dramas for global audiences, co-producing anime projects, enhancing the worldwide distribution of KADOKAWA’s anime via the Sony Group, and further developing KADOKAWA’s gaming initiatives.
The depth of KADOKAWA’s content—from manga and anime to light novels—holds immense potential, and with Sony’s expansive resources, there is significant promise for reaching a broader global audience. KADOKAWA’s CEO, Takeshi Natsuno, remarked:
“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.”
With a substantial footprint in the anime landscape, Sony owns Aniplex and Crunchyroll, a leading anime distribution and streaming service. Hiroki Totoki, President and COO of Sony Group Corporation, remarked:
“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.’
This partnership has raised eyebrows among fans, with some voicing concerns over the potential for a monopoly. The Sony-KADOKAWA conglomerate will have ownership over myriad aspects—IP management, production, distribution, and even media outlets such as Anime News Network. Observers will be keen to see how this alliance influences the future of anime, as it stands as a pivotal moment in the industry’s history.
Source: Sony Group press release