Summary
- Sony is actively trying to acquire Kadokawa, parent company of FromSoftware, developer of popular games.
- Major players in the media industry are consolidating through acquisitions, with Sony making strategic moves.
- Acquisitions could affect both the game and anime industries due to the significant presence of Sony and Kadokawa.
A new report confirms it Sony are actively interested in the acquisition of Kadokawa, a large Japanese media conglomerate and the parent company of FromSoftware, developer of Fire Ring and that Souls titles. According to rumors, Sony is “in talks” to acquire the publisher.
The global media industry is entering a time of great consolidation. From Disney's purchase of Fox to Microsoft's merger with Activision-Blizzard to Sony itself taking off Fate developer Bungie in 2022, the biggest players in the media industry are looking for ways to get even bigger. Large companies tend to see acquisitions as strategic steps to improve their prospects in key markets, or even pick up popular franchises and series, get a share of their profitability and gain control over its further development.
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That may be the case for Sony's potential purchase of Kadokawa. According to comments published in a report by Japanese site Bunshun Online, Sony Group confirmed that it has formally “expressed its intentions” to acquire Kadokawa. The comments confirm rumors from an earlier Reuters story about Sony buying Kadokawa that was published in November 2024.
Sony confirms intention to buy Kadokawa
The Bunshun Online report itself focuses on comments from Kadokawa employees, managers and outside analysts reacting to the rumours. Comments from financial analyst Takahiro Suzuki suggested that a potential deal would be more in Sony's favor than Kadokawa's, as the latter may “lose independence” with the change in management. Suzuki's comments mentioned that a potential Sony-led administration could be “stricter”. The sentiment is consistent with what others have said about companies that have fallen under the Sony umbrella recently. A former Bungie lawyer praised Sony for bringing necessary “discipline” to the production and management of Destiny 2 after the acquisition.
While Sony's purchase of Kadokawa and its game studios may mark a significant shift in the gaming industry, the potential impact of the purchase could be much greater for the anime industry. Both Sony and Kadokawa are among the largest players in anime and manga production worldwide. Sony owns Crunchyroll and Funimation, two of the largest global distributors of anime, while Kadokawa owns countless IPs and large stakes in anime production at almost every level.
The creation of a potential Sony and Kadokawa anime juggernaut could be a seismic shift in the balance of power for the anime scene, but it should be said that a buyout is not a foregone conclusion. Sony has only expressed interest in the acquisition, and there will be many steps to go through before anything is finalized. Currently, a merger of the two titans is only theoretical.
Sony
- Date founded
- 7 May 1946
- Head office
- Minato City, Tokyo, Japan
