Sony confirms interest in acquiring parent company FromSoftware

A new report confirms this Sony actively interested in acquiring Kadokawa, a major Japanese media conglomerate and parent company of FromSoftware, developers Elden Ring and Souls names. Sony is rumored to be “in talks” to acquire the publisher.

The global media industry is entering an era of serious consolidation. From Disney's buyout of Fox to Microsoft's merger with Activision-Blizzard to Sony itself Fate developer Bungie in 2022, the biggest players in the media industry are looking for ways to get even bigger. Major companies tend to see takeovers as strategic moves to improve their prospects in key markets or even to pick up popular franchises and series, gaining a share of their profitability and control over their further development.

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This could be the case with the potential purchase of Sony by Kadokawa. According to comments published in a report by Japanese website Bunshun Online, Sony Group has confirmed that it has officially “expressed its intention” to acquire Kadokawa. The comments confirm rumors from an earlier Reuters story about Sony's purchase of Kadokawa, published in November 2024.

Sony confirms intention to acquire Kadokawa

Bunshun Online's report itself focuses on comments from Kadokawa employees, executives and outside analysts who reacted to the rumours. Economic analyst Takahiro Suzuki's comments suggested the potential deal would benefit Sony more than Kadokawa, as the latter could “lose independence” with the change in management. Suzuki's comments mentioned that a potential Sony-led administration could be “tougher.” These sentiments are in line with what others have said about companies that have been under the Sony umbrella in the recent past. A former Bungie lawyer praised Sony for introducing the necessary “discipline” in production and management Destiny 2 after acquisition.

While Sony's purchase of Kadokawa and its game studios could represent a major shift in the gaming industry, the potential impact of the buyout could be much greater for the anime industry. Both Sony and Kadokawa are among the biggest players in anime and manga production worldwide. Sony owns Crunchyroll and Funimation, two of the world's largest anime distributors, while Kadokawa owns countless IPs and major stakes in anime production at almost every level.

Sony and Kadokawa's creation of a potential anime juggernaut could be a major shift in the balance of power for the anime scene, but it's fair to say that redemption isn't a foregone conclusion. Sony just expressed an interest in the acquisition, and there will be a lot of steps to take before anything is decided. For now, the merger of the two titans is only theoretical.

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Sony

Date of establishment

May 7, 1946

Headquarters

City of Minato, Tokyo, Japan