Tokyo Broadcasting System and Legendary Entertainment have entered into a non-exclusive agreement to source and develop Japanese IP. As part of the agreement, TBS has acquired $150 million of equity from the company and existing shareholders of Legendary, representing a small minority ownership stake in Legendary. Following the transaction, the remaining equity continues to be owned by Legendary management, and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo who remain equal control shareholders of the business.
The agreement is non-exclusive and brings together Legendary’s development, production and marketing expertise with TBS’ respected and established reputation in the Japanese market. The transaction supports each company’s continued expansion of global relationships.
Legendary is already producing several projects based on Japanese IP across both theatrical and episodic, including Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Street Fighter, which recently wrapped, Gundam, now in pre-production, Drops of God Season 2, and previously produced Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. TBS identified Legendary as a partner aligned with its long-term strategy to broaden its presence outside Japan.
“For decades, TBS has played a central role working with all members of the creative ecosystem in Japan, from multiple publishers to animators to writers and artists. Its position within the local market presents exciting opportunities for collaboration. We look forward to working with TBS to broaden our relationships in Japan and to help expand the global reach of its rich IP to the rest of the world in a manner that respects and honors the talented creators,” said Josh Grode, CEO of Legendary Entertainment.
The agreement is part of a broader strategy for Legendary to expand its business with companies in key markets that have meaningful IP and deep roots in their local markets; and for TBS to expand its content and production capabilities beyond Japan for global exploitation of its content and intellectual property.
“We are thrilled to partner with Legendary, a world-class studio with a remarkable track record of history-making global hits. Legendary’s exceptional creativity and their proven ability to build and expand IPs into worldwide franchises will be an indispensable driving force to our global strategy. With a focus on TBS’s global strategy studios, The Seven and The Seven US —which recently received a 180,000,000 USD capital increase— we will accelerate content investment and TBS Group’s creators will continue to deliver world-class content to global audiences,” said Yayoi Nakatani, Board Director, Chief Growth Officer of TBS Holdings, Inc.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source deadline.com ’
