Sony is said to be in talks to acquire FromSoftware’s parent company
Sony is in talks to acquire Kadokawa, the Japanese media powerhouse behind the Elden Ring game, two sources familiar with the matter say, as the tech giant looks to add to its entertainment portfolio.
Talks between the two sides are ongoing and if successful, an agreement could be signed in the coming weeks, the sources said.
Kadokawa’s shares closed 23 percent off their daily limit. Its market capitalization was about $2.7 billion (about Rs. 22,791 crore) before the Reuters report.
Sony declined to comment. Kadokawa said he cannot comment.
Sony already has a two percent stake in Kadokawa and a stake in Kadokawa subsidiary FromSoftware, the developer of the popular fantasy role-playing game.
The critically acclaimed title is a collaboration between veteran game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones author George RR Martin.
The game has sold 25 million copies, with an expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, selling five million copies in the three days following its release in June.
Kadokawa started as a publisher in 1945, but has expanded franchises like Re:Zero into games, anime, events and figures.
The other franchises include Delicious in Dungeon, a manga series adapted into an anime about adventurers exploring dungeons and eating monsters they encounter.
Known as the inventor of the Walkman, Sony has transformed from an electronics manufacturer into an entertainment and technology giant spanning movies, music, games and chips.
“Friendly characters and intellectual property (IP) can last 30, 50 or 100 years,” Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said last year.
“That is something we want to invest in for sustainable growth,” he said.
Sony’s focus is on anime, whose growth worldwide is fueled by the spread of streaming services and greater exposure to Japanese culture.
The group has also had success expanding the reach of its own franchises, with the game series The Last of Us being adapted into a hit HBO drama.
Sony, which has a market value of about $114 billion (about Rs. 9,62,332 crore), in January scrapped the $10 billion (about Rs. 84,415 crore) merger of its Indian arm with Zee Entertainment Enterprises as some conditions were not met .
Kadokawa’s business has suffered in recent years.
In June, it was hit by a cyber attack that resulted in a data breach and affected its business operations.
Two years ago, Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the son of the company’s founder, resigned as chairman after being indicted on bribery charges related to the Tokyo Olympics.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
