Sony announced on Friday that Sony Corporation of America will pay about US$400 million to buy 17.3 million shares of Chinese streaming platform bilibili.
American anime publisher Funimation and bilibili jointly announced a partnership to acquire anime licenses in March 2019.
Sony Music Entertainment’s Aniplex subsidiary had established as of April 2019 a Shanghai-based subsidiary with the intent of starting on “full-scale” Chinese animation production, as well as sell merchandise.
The companies plan to collaborate on projects in the Chinese entertainment market, including animation and mobile games, after signing their business contract.