Sony Pictures Acquires Anime Distributor Funimation
Sony Pictures has finally announced that they have officially acquired anime distributor Funimation. This is after both companies reach a deal a back in July where the media giant will acquire a majority stake in Texas-based distributor along with its massive catalog of anime series and movies.
Funimation recently posted the following statement on its website confirming that Sony Pictures Television has completed its acquisition of the company:
"It's official. The deal has closed for Sony Pictures Television Networks to acquire Funimation — and we're incredibly excited!"
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"We're still the Funimation you've known and grown up with, and now with the power of Sony, and with Gen [Fukunaga] at the helm, we have the opportunity to bring the best anime to even more fans across the world."
Sony reportedly paid $143 million for a 95 percent stake in the company which was valued at $150 million. Funimation's catalog includes popular series such as "Dragon Ball Z," "Cowboy Bebop," "One Piece," "My Hero Academia" and "Attack on Titan." Earlier this year, the company also announced it will release the critically-acclaimed anime film "Your Name" on Blu-ray and DVD later this year.
While the Sony deal confirmed that Funimation CEO Gen Fukunaga will still remain CEO and retain a minority stake in the company, it is currently unclear if the company's existing partnerships will also remain untouched. Last year, Funimation entered a deal with fellow distributor Crunchyroll where the two will share some existing licenses and split anime responsibilities with Funimation simulcasting dubbed titles and Crunchyroll simulcasting subtitled anime.
There is also no telling what kind of oversight Sony will bring to the workflow of its latest acquisition. Sony TV has a large presence globally and by acquiring Funimation, it will allow anime to be more easily spread out to a worldwide audience.
One thing that it won't alter though is the pricing of its products which will probably come as good news for most anime fans. However, this could change at any time as Sony will probably want to recoup its investment as soon as possible.
