Sony Corp. will buy AT&T Inc.'s animation business Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion (about ¥120 billion), the two companies said Thursday, as the electronics conglomerate aims to strengthen its entertainment content and distribution businesses.
The deal will give Sony access to Crunchyroll's 3 million paying subscribers across more than 200 countries and regions, helping Sony compete more globally with entertainment giants such as Netflix.
Sony's Funimation Global Group, a U.S. animation distributor with 1 million paying subscribers, will own Crunchyroll, which is currently part of AT&T's WarnerMedia segment.