Sony Pictures Television Acquires Majority Stake in Funimation

Sony Pictures Television, a California-based television production and distribution studio, announced on Monday that it will acquire a 95-percent stake in shares of North American anime distributor Funimation. Gen Fukunaga, the Texas-based company's founder and chief executive, will retain a minority stake and remain in his current position.

Deadline Hollywood reports that Sony Pictures Television will pay US$143 million for the controlling stake in Funimation, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. The purchase values the distributor at US$150 million and will put it under the umbrella of Sony Pictures Television Networks, which jointly operates the Animax and Kids Station networks with Sony's Japanese businesses.

"Around the world, Sony's networks have been major players in the anime space for nearly two decades, and in more recent years we have rapidly increased our networks' over-the-top and digital offerings to consumers. With the acquisition of Funimation, the combined [intellectual properties] of Animax, Kids Station, and Funimation allows us to deliver the best anime to fans across all screens and platforms," said Andy Kaplan, President of Worldwide Networks at Sony Pictures Television.

Bloomberg first reported in May that Universal and Sony Pictures had been interested in a controlling stake of Funimation. According to the report, Universal decided not to proceed with the talks because it already has a multi-year contract to distribute Funimation's Blu-ray and DVD releases. Meanwhile, a separate Sony unit has been a partner in the ad-free anime streaming service FunimationNow.

Funimation, which records more than US$100 million in annual sales, has been experiencing double-digit growth since 2013 according to the company's chief operating officer in an interview with Bloomberg. This figure is attractive to Hollywood studios that are looking for new content with a loyal fan base and a growing revenue stream in both theatrical releases and home videos.

Bloomberg reports that Funimation has 200 employees spread out among its offices in Texas, New York, and Japan. Its Texas studio produces English dubs for an average of 23 series each week and plans to release 80 shows on the FunimationNow streaming service this year.

Source: Deadline Hollywood, Bloomberg, Polygon