Sony's Strategic Alliance with Kadokawa: A New Chapter in Entertainment

Sony has become Kadokawa Corporation's largest shareholder, solidifying a strategic capital and business alliance. This partnership, built upon a previous investment in February 2021, sees Sony holding approximately 10% of Kadokawa's shares after acquiring roughly 12 million new shares for around 50 billion JPY. Crucially, this agreement maintains Kadokawa's independence.

The alliance aims to leverage both companies' strengths for global IP expansion. Joint initiatives will focus on:

• Globalizing live-action films and TV dramas based on Kadokawa's intellectual properties.
• Collaborative anime production.
• Expanding Kadokawa's reach through Sony Group's global distribution and publishing networks for anime and video games.

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 extensive IP portfolio and Sony's global entertainment expertise, aligning with Sony's "Creative Entertainment Vision" and Kadokawa's "Global Media Mix" strategy.

Kadokawa's significant holdings across anime, manga, film, television, and video game production include prominent IPs like Oshi no Ko, Re:Zero, Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon, and its ownership of FromSoftware, the developer behind Elden Ring and Armored Core. The recent announcement of Elden Ring: Nightreign, a co-op spin-off slated for 2025, further underscores the value of this partnership.

This alliance signifies a major development in the global entertainment landscape, promising exciting collaborations and expanded access to popular IPs worldwide.