U.S. telecommunications firm AT&T Inc has agreed to sell its Crunchyroll anime business to Sony Corp’s Funimation Global Group, LLC, both companies said in a joint statement late Wednesday.
The purchase price for the transaction is $1.175 billion subject to customary working capital and other adjustments, and the proceeds will be paid in cash at closing, AT&T and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc said.
“Together with Crunchyroll, we will create … greater opportunity for creators, producers and publishers in Japan and elsewhere,” Tony Vinciquerra, the chief executive officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment said.
Crunchyroll is an anime direct-to-consumer service within AT&T’s WarnerMedia segment, serving 90 million registered users across more than 200 countries and territories.
Funimation is a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc’s subsidiary, Aniplex Inc.
Sony is beefing up gaming and entertainment businesses under Chief Executive Kenichiro Yoshida’s strategy to increase recurring revenue streams that cushion the impact of volatile hardware sales cycles.