Sony's Funimation completes the acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T

Two anime powers are joining, with news that Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. has completed the acquisition of AT&T Inc.'s Crunchyroll anime business through Funimation Global Group, LLC. Funimation is a joint venture between SPE and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.'s subsidiary, Aniplex Inc. The deal was first announced in December 2020.

Crunchyroll is a leading direct-to-consumer anime service with 5 million SVOD subscribers and growing. It serves 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories offering AVOD, mobile games, manga, events, merchandising and distribution. The deal provides the opportunity for Crunchyroll and Funimation to expand distribution for their content partners and expand fan-centric offerings for consumers.

“We are very excited to welcome Crunchyroll to the Sony Group,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, President, President and CEO, Sony Group Corporation. “Anime is a rapidly growing medium that fascinates and inspires emotions among audiences around the world. The alignment of Crunchyroll and Funimation will allow us to get even closer to the creators and fans who are at the heart of the anime community. We look forward to offering even more exceptional entertainment that fills the world with emotion through anime. ”

"Crunchyroll adds tremendous value to Sony's existing anime businesses, including Funimation and our fantastic partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan," said Tony Vinciquerra, president and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. "With Crunchyroll and Funimation, We are committed to creating the ultimate anime experience for fans and presenting a unique opportunity for our key partners, publishers and creators of immense talent to continue to deliver their masterful content to audiences around the world. With the addition of Crunchyroll, we have an unprecedented opportunity to serve anime fans like never before and deliver the anime experience on whatever platform they choose, from cinema, to events, to home entertainment, to gaming. , to streaming, to linear TV, anywhere and in all the ways that fans want to experience their anime. Our goal is to create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible. "

The purchase price for the transaction is $ 1,175 billion, subject to customary working capital and other adjustments, and the proceeds were paid in cash at close. AT&T plans to use the proceeds from this transaction to help support its debt relief efforts, with plans to achieve less than 2,5x adjusted net debt EBITDA by the end of 2023.

funimation.com | crunchyroll. com