Sony has become a Bandai Namco shareholder after acquiring 16 million shares of the company. This represents 2.5% of the total Bandai Namco shares, with Sony now owning them after spending a total of ¥68 billion, or roughly $465 million.
The news broke early on July 24 and was labeled by Sony as "a strategic business alliance agreement." The idea behind this partnership is that both companies hope to capitalize on and expand the reach of anime and manga around the world, putting emphasis on the fact that both companies have worked together in media such as games, anime, and music.
Of course, the press release doesn't go into any specifics regarding the future of projects in which Bandai and Sony are currently involved and for all we know, things might not change much in terms of how both operate. But this can be a step forward for Sony and Bandai to solidify a strong partnership moving forward.
Bandai is undoubtedly one of the biggest companies when it comes to gaming and anime. Again, no mention of what this partnership could entail for its gaming division, but there's a clear sign that Bandai will likely leverage Sony's expertise when it comes to distributing different types of media and expanding their merchandising reach in the process.
Maybe in the near future we'll see this partnership deliver some megatings in the gaming landscape. In the meantime, put down the pitchforks and turn off those torches.
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