Funimation Just Bought Crunchyroll for $1.175 Billion

This just in-

Funimation has officially closed the deal to purchase anime giant Crunchyroll for a whopping $1.175 billion.

AT&T, who owned Crunchyroll, started looking for buyers earlier this year, and Sony, who owns Funimation, was at the top of the list.

Tony Goncalves, WarnerMedia’s chief revenue officer, said of the sale:

“The Crunchyroll team has done an extraordinary job of not only growing the Crunchyroll brand but also building a passionate community of anime fans. Crunchyroll’s success is a direct result of the company’s culture and commitment to their fans. By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people.”

Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Tony Vinciquerra said:

“We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family. Through Funimation and our terrific partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan, we have a deep understanding of this global artform and are well-positioned to deliver outstanding content to audiences around the world. Together with Crunchyroll, we will create the best possible experience for fans and greater opportunity for creators, producers and publishers in Japan and elsewhere.

Funimation has been doing this for over 25 years and we look forward to continuing to leverage the power of creativity and technology to succeed in this rapidly growing segment of entertainment.”

This ought to be an interesting teamup, and really opens the doors for distribution. We’ll let you know what else we hear about this.