Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. has recently confirmed to acquire Crunchyroll for USD 1.175 billion.
AT&T has agreed to sell its Crunchyroll anime business to Funimation Global Group, LLC. Funimation, a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and Aniplex Inc.
Crunchyroll is known as a premier anime direct-to-consumer service within AT&T’s WarnerMedia segment with over 3 million SVOD subscribers. It offers AVOD, mobile games, manga, events merchandise, and distribution to 90 million registered users across over 200 countries and territories.
The merging of Crunchyroll and Funimation will allow them to develop distribution for their content partners and expand its offerings for consumers.
“The Crunchyroll team has done an extraordinary job of not only growing the Crunchyroll brand but also building a passionate community of anime fans. Crunchyroll’s success is a direct result of the company’s culture and commitment to their fans. By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people. I’m incredibly proud of the Crunchyroll team and what they have been able to accomplish in the digital media space in such a short period of time. They’ve created an end-to-end global ecosystem for this incredible art form,” Tony Goncalves, Chief Revenue Officer of WarnerMedia, stated.
The Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Tony Vinciquerra, is also looking forward to delivering the best possible experience with Crunchyroll. “Together with Crunchyroll, we will create the best possible experience for fans and greater opportunity for creators, producers, and publishers in Japan and elsewhere. Funimation has been doing this for over 25 years and we look forward to continuing to leverage the power of creativity and technology to succeed in this rapidly growing segment of entertainment,” Vinciquerra mentioned.
The acquisition cost is subject to customary working capital and other adjustments, and the proceeds will be paid in cash at closing. The transaction is also subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Crunchyroll and Funimation will continue to operate independently until the deal closes.
Source: Sony, Crunchyroll
