In November of this year, it was reported that a union between Sony and Kadokawa Corporation was in the works.. Today the deal has closed and will see Sony Group Corporation take a significant stake in the company responsible for From Software games like Ancient Ring And Transmitted by blood and countless anime franchises such as Oshi No Ko, KonosubaAnd Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. While the companies have worked on projects in the past, Sony will now have a much larger hand in Kadokawa’s future, according to a new press release that signals the formation of a “strategic capital and investment alliance.” ‘business’.

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The new partnership will see Sony acquire ten percent of Kadokawa’s sharesmaking it the largest shareholder of the company known for its video games, cartoons and other entertainment offerings. As for what this union will mean in the future, the press release states that this collaboration will result in “initiatives aimed at adapting KADOKAWA’s intellectual property into live-action films and television series on a scale worldwide, to co-produce animated works, to expand the global distribution of KADOKAWA animated films. works through the Sony group, further develops the publishing of KADOKAWA games and develops human resources to promote and develop virtual production.

(RELATED: Sony’s acquisition of Kadokawa could lead to a troubling monopoly on anime)

Sony and Kadokawa speak

Of course, both companies were more than willing to speak publicly about the steps taken under the partnership. Kadokaw Corporate CEO Takeshi Natsuno released the following statement: “We are very pleased to enter into 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 bring our IP to more users around the world. We are confident that this will go a long way in maximizing the value of our intellectual property and increasing the value of our business in the medium to long term. We intend to do everything possible to ensure that our collaborative efforts with Sony produce excellent results in the global market.

On the other side of the equation, President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki delved deeper into the possibility of Sony becoming Kadakowa’s majority shareholder: “Through this capital and business alliance, we will become the most major shareholder of KADOKAWA, which constantly creates great diversity. intellectual property, including publications and books, such as light novels and comics, as well as games and anime. By combining KADOKAWA’s extensive intellectual property and intellectual property creation ecosystem with the strengths of Sony, which has driven the global expansion of a wide range of entertainment, including anime and games, we plan to work in working closely to realize KADOKAWA’s “Global Media Mix” strategy, aimed at maximizing the value of its intellectual property and Sony’s long-term vision, “Creative Entertainment Vision”.

Want to stay up to date on this anime union that could shake up the industry in the future? Follow Team Anime on ComicBook.com for all the latest updates on Sony and Kadokawa and contact me directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

By press release