Last week it was reported and then later confirmed that Sony has expressed an interest in acquiring Kadokawa, a Japan-based studio that, among other things, is the majority stakeholder in FromSoftware.
The news sent ripples throughout the games industry, as many fans were concerned as to what that would mean for the future of FromSoftware and the studio’s ability to create the kinds of masterpiece games it has made so far.
It was also partially viewed as a play by Sony to continue firing back at Microsoft after it acquired Activision Blizzard. But according to a new report from Bloomberg, while Sony has definitely had interest in purchasing aspects of the Kadokawa Corporation, it’s Kadokawa itself that has been trying to push Sony to acquire it wholesale.
The report clarifies that Sony has had an interest in acquiring parts of Kadokawa’s anime and of course games business, particularly regarding FromSoftware, but didn’t exactly want to buy it outright.
It seems that Kadokawa is looking for a lifeline, after the departure of its long-term leader as the result of a scandal, and a security breach which hurt the company’s value.
The likes of Sony, Tencent, Microsoft and the South Korean Kakao Corp have reportedly been circling Kadokawa like sharks, and Sony seems to be Kadokawa’s preferred shark.
There’s also been a rumour that the last of those aforementioned companies, Kakao Corp, would be attempting a hostile takeover of Kadokawa, unless the Sony deal goes through first. This article doesn’t exactly say that, but it does add a bit more fuel to that fire.
If Sony were to acquire Kadokawa, it could have the potential to be a massive acquisition for the company, not just for PlayStation but across entertainment divisions, specifically anime.
Source – [Bloomberg]