Sony and Kadokawa From Strategic Business Alliance

by

Summary

  • Sony forms alliance with Kadokawa, not complete acquisition as some expected.
  • Sony now largest shareholder in Kadokawa after acquiring 10% shares.
  • Kadokawa and Sony plan collaborations for global IP expansion. No exclusivity mentioned.

As a dedicated gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of excitement and relief when I heard about Sony’s strategic alliance with Kadokawa Corporation. Having grown up playing FromSoftware games on various platforms, the thought of potential exclusivity deals was a bitter pill to swallow.

According to recent speculation, it was confirmed last month that Sony had expressed interest in acquiring FromSoftware’s parent company Kadokawa Corporation. Today, it has been announced that a deal has been reached, but it is not a full takeover as some may have anticipated.

Today, Sony announced they will be partnering strategically with Kadokawa Corporation, a move intended to boost the global worth of intellectual properties for both entities.

Sony Now Becomes Largest Shareholder in Kadokawa Corporation

Today’s press release reveals that Sony is purchasing around 12 million Kadokawa shares worth approximately 50 billion yen ($318,725,000). With this new acquisition, Sony becomes the largest shareholder of Kadokawa, owning nearly 10% of its total shares when combined with their current 2% stake.

Prior to today’s deal, I, as a fan, was one of the substantial minority shareholders, holding approximately 6% of Kadokawa, under the umbrella of the Chinese mega-corporation Tencent.

The agreement doesn’t specify that Kadokawa’s game releases will only be available on PlayStation. This should make Xbox and Nintendo enthusiasts smile. However, it does indicate that both parties aim to strengthen their partnership through activities like potential joint investments in content creation, discovering new talent together, and promoting a wider range of media adaptations of each company’s intellectual properties.

This agreement outlines the strategic partnership between the two companies, detailing their intentions to jointly transform Kadokawa’s intellectual properties into live-action films and TV series on a global scale. They also plan to collaborate in creating anime productions together and increase the global distribution of Kadokawa’s anime products through the Sony Group. For those who might be unaware, Kadokawa owns an extensive library of anime content, which many believe would significantly enhance Sony’s Crunchyroll streaming service if the acquisition were to take place.

Sony And Kadokawa CEOs Share Statements On Recent Agreement

Of course, it wouldn’t be a complete press release without hearing from both companies’ head bosses.

Takeshi Natsuno, CEO of Kadokawa, expressed his satisfaction about finalizing a partnership agreement involving capital and business with Sony. This partnership is anticipated to enhance our capacity for creating intellectual properties (IP) even further, and also expand our options for IP media mix due to Sony’s assistance in global growth. With this support, we can offer our IP to a broader international audience. We believe that this collaboration will significantly boost the worth of our IP and improve our company value over the medium- to long-term. We are committed to making sure our joint efforts with Sony yield excellent outcomes in the global market.

In this collaboration, Hiroki Totoki, President, COO, and CFO of Sony Group, speaks for Sony. He explains that by acquiring a significant stake in KADOKAWA, Sony will have the largest share in a company known for producing diverse intellectual properties (IP), such as light novels, comics, games, and anime. By merging KADOKAWA’s extensive IP library and IP creation infrastructure with Sony’s global entertainment expansion capabilities, especially in anime and gaming, both companies aim to work closely together to achieve KADOKAWA’s ‘Global Media Mix’ strategy – a plan to optimize the value of its IP. Additionally, this partnership will support Sony’s long-term vision, ‘Creative Entertainment Vision.’

In simpler terms, the collaboration between the two companies doesn’t appear to bring significant changes for us, the consumers. Xbox fans can rejoice as future games from FromSoftware will no longer be exclusive to PlayStation. However, there’s still a chance that could happen, but it feels less concerning now since Kadokawa is not exclusively owned by Sony.

Read More

2024-12-19 13:38