Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co. said Monday one of its group companies will acquire the operations of visual content provider Daiei Co. to expand the group's contents business.
Kadokawa, which concluded a memorandum on the acquisition with Daiei, said it plans to sign the contract in August with Daiei's parent company, Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co.
The price of the acquisition, which will be completed in November, will be negotiated between the parties involved, Kadokawa said.
Daiei, originally called Dai Nippon Eiga, produces and distributes films and videos, and runs a studio. It was established in 1942 and produced a number of famous films, including Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon." It went bankrupt in 1971 and resumed operations in 1974 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokuma.
Kadokawa expects to acquire all of Daiei's operations as well as its visual libraries and knowhow in the movie business.
In its business year that ended last Aug. 31, Daiei posted parent-only pretax profits of 175 million yen, a threefold increase from the previous year, on a 20.8 percent rise in operating revenues to 3.85 billion yen.
Kadokawa said the acquisition will have little effect on its group earnings forecast for the current business year to March 31.