Crunchyroll to Acquire Majority Stake of VIZ Media Europe

Crunchyroll has announced an agreement that will give it a majority stake in VIZ Media Europe Group's EMEA-wide network of partners, distributors and licensees.

VIZ Media Europe Group is one of the largest licensors and distributors of Japanese anime in EMEA. Crunchyroll is a subsidiary of Otter Media, which provides anime content in more than 200 countries and territories. The strategic partnership will see Crunchyroll join current VIZ Media Europe Group investor, The Hitotsubashi Group, which will retain a minority stake.

"Crunchyroll and VIZ Media Europe Group will bring together significant expertise, capabilities and dedication to grow and promote our respective licensed and original content," says Joanne Waage, general manager, Crunchyroll. "We look forward to learning from and collaborating with our new colleagues in Paris, Lausanne and Berlin, so we can continuously create the most engaging experiences for anime and manga communities around the world."

The partnership follows recent news that Crunchyroll content would be added to WarnerMedia's upcoming streaming platform, HBO Max. Crunchyroll's parent company, Otter Media, is owned by WarnerMedia.