Sony and Bandai Namco announced a strategic agreement where Sony will acquire a 2.5 percent stake in the Elden Ring publisher by purchasing 16 million Bandai Namco shares for approximately JPY 68 billion. The partnership will focus on anime and manga, creating new experiences to maximize the value of intellectual property (IP).
The agreement aims to strengthen engagement in the anime field, merchandising, and more. Both companies have a history of collaboration in games, anime, and music and plan to extend this partnership to various areas to expand works, products, and services based on Bandai Namco’s IP, leveraging Sony’s strengths in anime production, distribution, and merchandising.
Sony and Bandai Namco will work on developing anime and manga IP, experiential entertainment, fan engagement, joint investments, and entertainment-related technologies and services. The partnership intends to provide diverse content and experiences exceeding expectations to fans worldwide.
Recently, Sony acquired new shares of FromSoftware parent Kadokawa, raising its stake in the company to 10 percent. This makes Sony the largest shareholder in the publishing firm.
