Krafton Inc., the South Korean publisher of the hit game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), has announced its acquisition of ADK Holdings, one of Japan’s top advertising and animation businesses, for ¥75 billion (US$520 million). 

In a regulatory filing, Krafton confirmed it had acquired BCJ-31, the parent company of ADK Holdings, from Bain Capital Japan.

Founded over 70 years ago, ADK is among the top three advertising agencies in Japan and has been instrumental in creating over 300 legendary anime titles, including Doraemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Crayon Shin-chan. Its annual transaction volume is estimated at ¥348 billion (US$2.4 million).

The acquisition is regarded as a crucial step in Krafton’s plan to establish a cross-media intellectual property hub in Asia, spanning gaming, animation and narrative. It also represents the first time a Korean business has acquired a major Japanese anime studio. 

According to industry analysts, the agreement marks a strategic move toward owning and creating unique content across entertainment mediums and will greatly broaden Krafton’s intellectual property portfolio outside games.

“This acquisition goes beyond merely adding more content to our collection. Building a platform for narrative that cuts across media is the goal,” stated Chang-han Kim, CEO of Krafton. “We intend to develop new types of interactive intellectual property by utilizing ADK’s extensive history in animation and our proficiency in international game publishing.”

- Excel V. Dyquiangco