Sony signs deal with KADOKAWA to become its largest shareholder, plans to buy 50 billion yen worth of shares

On 19 December 2024, Sony and KADOKAWA, the parent company of FromSoftware, announced a strategic capital and business agreement to strengthen cooperation between the companies and maximise the value of their intellectual property (IP) on a global scale. As part of the agreement, Sony will acquire 12,054,100 new shares in KADOKAWA for approximately 50 billion yen ($344 million), making it the company's largest shareholder.

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This agreement is a continuation of the cooperation between Sony and KADOKAWA, which has already implemented various projects. Both companies plan to deepen their cooperation, in particular through joint content investments. This will include adapting KADOKAWA IP into feature films and television series, co-producing anime, and expanding the global distribution of KADOKAWA anime through Sony's network.

KADOKAWA's management team expressed their satisfaction with the deal, noting that it will not only strengthen their IP creation capabilities, but also open up new avenues for global expansion. "We are confident that this will greatly contribute to maximising the value of our IP and enhancing corporate value in the medium to long term," said a KADOKAWA spokesperson.

Sony also emphasised the importance of the deal, noting that it will combine KADOKAWA's IP creation ecosystem with Sony's global entertainment expansion capabilities. Both companies aim to realise KADOKAWA's Global Media Mix strategy and Sony's long-term Creative Entertainment Vision.

Although there were initially active rumours of a full acquisition of KADOWAKA, for now Sony will only become the largest shareholder.

Source: Sony