Sony (Sony Group Corporation) has acquired 16 million Bandai Namco (Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.) shares for approximately $464 million (68 billion yen). With this 2.5% stake, Sony became a shareholder of Bandai Namco. While the two companies have collaborated in the past, this is their first official partnership.

Reasons for Partnering

• Company Similarities: Both Sony and Bandai Namco are major players in the Japanese entertainment industry. Sony can be credited for creating the best-selling video game console of all time, the PlayStation 2. Bandai Namco is responsible for gaming classics, like Pac-Man, and more recent favorites, like Dark Souls. 
  
  
• Market Growth: As previously mentioned, Sony and Bandai Namco have a history of collaborating on various games, anime, and music projects. The two plan to combine Sony’s production and distribution lines and Bandai Namco’s products, services, and IPs. In addition to their collective history of working with anime and manga IPs, the projected expansion of these markets sets this up to be a lucrative partnership.
  
  
• Mission-Driven: The Executive Vice President of Bandai Namco and the Chief Strategy  Officer of Sony commented on the partnership between the two companies. They both cited a desire to keep in mind their long-term missions.  A collective vision that includes “fun for all into the future”, “creative entertainment vision”, and “connect[ion] with fans” unites them.

Conclusion

This partnership is sure to create a variety of content for fans of video games, anime, and manga. Sony and Bandai Namco plan to expand into new, unreached markets with more efficiently made creative projects. This partnership is all but guaranteed to be a success.

Looking to make your own successful deal? Contact one of Stony Hill’s expert M&A advisors today!