Sony Pictures TV to Acquire Funimation

Funimation valued at approximately $150 million.

By Alex Osborn

UPDATE: Sony Pictures Television has officially closed its deal to acquire Funimation Productions.

Funimation released the following statement in a post on its website:

It’s official. The deal has closed for Sony Pictures Television Networks to acquire Funimation — and we’re incredibly excited!

We're still the Funimation you’ve known and grown up with, and now with the power of Sony, and with Gen [Fukunaga] at the helm, we have the opportunity to bring the best anime to even more fans across the world.

Original story follows:

Funimation Productions will soon be owned by Sony Pictures Television Networks.

As reported by Deadline, Sony Pictures TV has entered into an agreement to purchase 95 percent of the anime distributor for $143 million, valuing the company at about $150 million. Funimation CEO Gen Fukunaga will remain CEO and retain a minority stake in the company.

This year at Anime Expo, Funimation announced it will release the critically-acclaimed anime film Your Name on Blu-ray and DVD later this year. For our thoughts on the film, read IGN's Your Name review.

In addition to Dragon Ball and One Piece, Funimation boasts a library of many other popular titles, including Attack on Titan, Cowboy Bebop and My Hero Academia.

Meanwhile, Sony owns Aniplex, an anime production company, of which animation studio A-1 Pictures (Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online) is a subsidiary.

Last year, Funimation entered into a partnership with Crunchyroll where the two share some existing licenses and split anime responsibilities, with Funimation simulcasting dubbed titles and Crunchyrull simulcasting subtitled anime. There's no word on how or if Sony's acquisition will affect this partnership.

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn.

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