Sanrio Joins as 4th Largest Shareholder of Production I.G and Wit Studio
IG Port raises $11 million through share sale to fuel anime production and global expansion.
IG Port Secures ¥1.6 Billion in Share Sale to Sanrio
Tokyo, Japan — IG Port, the parent company of renowned animation studios Production I.G and Wit Studio, along with publisher Mag Garden, announced a significant capital and business alliance with character and merchandise company Sanrio on Tuesday.
Details of the Share Sale
- Shares Issued: 929,100 shares at ¥1,750 (approximately $12) per share.
- Total Raised: ¥1,625,925,000 (around $11.19 million).
- Effective Date: July 3.
Sanrio's investment makes it the fourth-largest shareholder in IG Port, joining NTT Docomo. Founder and CEO Mitsuhisa Ishikawa holds 18.9%, with Dentsu Group and NTV each owning 9.85%.
Allocation of Funds
- ¥1 Billion: Collaborative projects with Sanrio, creator training, and funding new works.
- ¥600 Million: Upgrading production systems and infrastructure, including animation workstations, servers, and data centers.
Upcoming Projects
Wit Studio is animating the stop-motion series My Melody & Kuromi, set to debut on Netflix on July 24. This series celebrates the 50th anniversary of My Melody and the 20th anniversary of Kuromi. (en.wikipedia.org)
Additionally, IG Port merged its subsidiary Signal.MD into Production I.G on June 1.