Sony Group is reportedly looking to become an “entertainment trading house” by investing in IP holders such as Bandai Namco and Kadokawa.
According to a report from Nikkei Asia (via the NeoGAF forums), after the debut of its financial arm on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Sony Group is shifting focus toward what it calls an “entertainment trading house” strategy, an approach that focuses on acquiring and investing in intellectual property (IP) rather than creating it from scratch.
Over the past seven years, the company has invested approximately 1.9 trillion yen (12.8 billion US Dollars) into entertainment IP. Instead of relying solely on in-house creations, Sony Group has built strategic stakes in major IP holders such as Bandai Namco, owner of the Gundam franchise, and Kadokawa, a publisher with a rich portfolio of novels and manga and full ownership. The latter is also the parent company of Japanese game developer FromSoftware. These acquisitions are then combined across Sony’s existing businesses, from gaming and movies to anime and music in order to maximize cross-media value.
A recent example of this strategy is Crunchyroll, Sony’s US-based anime streaming platform. On September 25, 2025, Crunchyroll announced that it will launch Crunchyroll Manga across the US and Canada starting from October 9, 2025, featuring titles like One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen. By expanding into manga, Sony opens the door for more IP to be adapted into films or games even before their anime counterparts gain traction overseas.
Industry observers have compared Sony’s approach to that of Japanese trading houses like Itochu and Mitsubishi, which diversified from commodity trading into broader corporate investments. Similarly, Sony is positioning cross-business collaboration as a growth driver. Its new “Pollinator Network” uses generative AI to connect talent across divisions, resulting in over 200 instances of knowledge-sharing, from applying gaming technology in film production to streamlining content creation pipelines.
Despite record stock highs in September, analysts argue Sony must improve transparency around its entertainment business to fully convince investors. A Daiwa Securities analyst recently upgraded Sony to its highest possible rating of “1 (buy)”. However, it was noted that limited disclosure makes it hard to properly gauge its entertainment business. Sony has since assured to enhance disclosures moving forward as it pursues its “entertainment trading house” vision.
