Sony agreed in July 2025 to buy 16 million Bandai Namco shares for about 68 billion yen and signed a business alliance

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, from public records. Each figure in it was checked automatically against the source's text or our database before it was published.

On Jul 24, 2025, Sony Group filed a Form 6-K in which it announced that it had signed a strategic business alliance agreement with Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. and had agreed with existing Bandai Namco shareholders to acquire 16 million of their shares. A 6-K is a report that a foreign company files with the US Securities and Exchange Commission; this one was headed as a report of a foreign private issuer. Bandai Namco and Sony announced the alliance together, in a joint release that the 6-K carries. Sony agreed to acquire the 16 million shares from existing shareholders for approximately 68 billion yen, and the release said it would then hold approximately 2.5% of Bandai Namco's total issued shares. Sony said it did not anticipate a material impact from the alliance and the share purchase on its consolidated results for the fiscal year ending Mar 31, 2026.1^,2^,3^,4^,5^,6^,7

The release said Bandai Namco and Sony had worked together on projects in games, anime and music, and planned to widen that collaboration. They said they would focus on growing the fan community for IP (intellectual property) such as anime and manga around the world, and on strengthening engagement, particularly in anime, where the release anticipated rapid market growth. They intended to expand works, products and services based on IP that Bandai Namco developed, drawing on Sony's strengths in producing and distributing anime and other video content and in merchandising. They also planned detailed discussions on jointly developing and promoting IP such as anime and manga, and on planning and technical collaboration on experiential entertainment. The release added that they planned to explore ways to support creators through jointly developed and operated entertainment technologies and services, and to engage in joint investments and business alliances in fan engagement areas.8^,9^,10^,11^,12

Toshimoto Mitomo, Sony Group's chief strategy officer, said the partnership aimed to co-create content and experiences for more fans alongside the Bandai Namco Group. Nobuhiko Momoi, an executive vice president of Bandai Namco Holdings, said the group was excited about the potential to create new entertainment by combining Sony Group's strengths with its own IP strategy.13^,14^,15^,16

The 6-K listed the announcement as its attached press release and was signed by Lin Tao, Sony's chief financial officer.17^,18^,2