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In a blog post on its website, Crunchyroll announced it will be acquired by Sony’s Funimation Global Group. Sony and Funimation will purchase the anime distributor from AT&T at the purchase price of $1.175 billion. The acquisition is now pending regulatory approval.
The companies announced the news on December 9, 2020 via blog posts. Though we know very little information as the deal is still pending, Crunchyroll preemptively apologized for fans’ questions. The company stated it can’t answer everything yet. Both Crunchyroll and Funimation will continue to operate separately until the deal is finalized. The Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures, Tony Vinciquerra, stated in a press release that he is proud to have the company as a part of Sony.
We first heard that the company was up for sale back in August 2020. Even at that time, rumors circulated that Sony and Funimation were interested. Given that rumors also suggested Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment could be up for sale with Microsoft potentially interested, we’ll have to keep our eyes on AT&T’s umbrella of assets in the near future.
Founded back in 2006, Crunchyroll is a distributor, publisher, production, and licensing company focusing on anime, manga, and dramas. Given the deal has likely been in the works for some time now, it’s no wonder the app launched alongside the PS5.
