Manga and light novel publisher Kadokawa, which has a majority share of Yen Press, plus a major English-language news site, a tabletop game publisher, and other assets, has confirmed in a statement Wednesday that it has received a letter of intent to acquire the company’s shares from Sony, but has made no decision on how to proceed. The announcement was in response to media reports Tuesday that talks were in progress.
The move would put Sony in the manga business in addition to its holdings in anime, which include U.S. anime streaming powerhouse Crunchyroll. Kadokawa owns 51% of U.S. publisher Yen Press, which it acquired in 2016 (see “Kadokawa Buys Majority“).
In addition to Yen and its Japanese publishing, anime, and video game interests, Kadokawa owns digital retailer BookWalker, which it launched in English in 2015 (see “Kadokawa Digital Retailer“); English-language anime and manga news site Anime News Network, which it acquired in 2022 (see “Kadokawa to Acquire ANN“); and tabletop game publisher, show organizer, and retailer Arclight, which it acquired earlier this year (see “Kadokawa Buying Arclight Games“); and other assets.
Source: ICV2
