Kadokawa, the company that owns Elden Ring developer FromSoftware and a slew of other studios across pop culture, has responded to a firm outside Japan quickly becoming a large stakeholder. In short, the Japanese conglomerate is undaunted by the prospect, but the potential changes remain to be seen.
As of March 30, Oasis Management, a hedge fund management firm based in Hong Kong, Tokyo and the US, has acquired a 13.76% stake in Kadokawa. This is the result of some aggressive increases throughout the month, now making it the company's biggest shareholder, overtaking previous leader, Sony.
This has spurred curiosity from onlookers and news outlets, prompting one Japanese newspaper to ask about Oasis Management's moves. "Regarding the contents or existence of discussion with individual shareholders, it’s been our policy to refrain from commenting on such matters," Kadokawa said in a statement, translated by Automaton.
"While our administrative policies are not influenced by actions of individual shareholders, we intend to keep making steady efforts that will help contribute to our continuous growth," the outfit states.
There's a shareholder meeting in June, where the outlook, expectations and plans of Oasis will likely be voiced. The firm has a reputation for buying up stock to get a controlling vote across multiple industries in Japan, raising uncertainty about what the plan might be here.
Given Kadokawa's presence in video games, anime and other media, there's a certain pensiveness about what may emerge. Sony's presence at the head of the table made sure there was some predictability in protecting the studios that had worthwhile IP.
For the time being, it's business as usual. We'll see what changes come in June.
