Sony Becomes Kadokawa's Largest Shareholder as a \"Business Alliance\"

Sony's Strategic Investment in Kadokawa: A New Business Alliance

Sony has become Kadokawa Corporation's largest shareholder, solidifying a strategic capital and business alliance. This partnership, detailed below, sees Sony holding approximately 10% of Kadokawa's shares.

Kadokawa's Independence Maintained

The agreement involves Sony acquiring roughly 12 million new shares for approximately 50 billion JPY, supplementing shares acquired in February 2021. Despite earlier Reuters reports suggesting a potential acquisition, Kadokawa will remain an independent entity.

This alliance aims to leverage both companies' intellectual property (IP) globally, fostering collaboration through:

• Joint investments and promotions.
• Global expansion of Kadokawa's live-action films and TV dramas.
• Co-production of anime projects.
• Global distribution and publishing of Kadokawa's anime and video game works via the Sony Group.

Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno expressed enthusiasm, highlighting the alliance's potential to enhance IP creation and global reach. Sony Group President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki emphasized the synergy between Kadokawa's IP ecosystem and Sony's global entertainment expertise, aligning with Kadokawa's "Global Media Mix" strategy and Sony's "Creative Entertainment Vision."

Kadokawa's Extensive IP Portfolio

Kadokawa is a major Japanese multimedia conglomerate, with significant holdings in anime, manga, film, television, and video game production. Its notable IPs include Oshi no Ko, Re:Zero, Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon, and, through its subsidiary FromSoftware, the Elden Ring and Armored Core franchises. The recent announcement of Elden Ring: Nightreign, a co-op spin-off slated for 2025, further underscores the value of this partnership.