 | |
 Sotsu's headquarters in the World Trade Center in Minato, Tokyo. | |
Native name | 株式会社創通 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Sōtsū |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Advertising |
| Founded | October 1, 1965 |
| Headquarters | Chūō, Tokyo |
Area served | Japan |
Key people | Hideyuki Nanba (president) Yūji Nasu (representative chairman) Akihiro Yuasa (representative president) |
| Revenue | ¥414.750 million (2019) |
Number of employees | 29 (2019) |
| Parent | Bandai Namco Filmworks |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Website | www.sotsu.co.jp |
Sotsu Co., Ltd.[a] is a Japanese advertising agency and, since March 2020, a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings, having substantial relations with it before the acquisition, especially with its now-corporate sibling, Sunrise.
It was founded in 1965 as Toyo Agency (東洋エージェンシー, Tōyō Ējenshī),[1] with it being designated by baseball team Yomiuri Giants as its primary agency for the planning and distribution of the team's merchandising interests.[1] In 1977, it changed its name to Sotsu Agency (創通エージェンシー, Sōtsū Ējenshī). The agency was first listed in the JASDAQ stock exchange in 2003.[1] On April 1, 2007, the company changed its name to Sotsu (創通, Sōtsū).[1]
It has been involved in the production and licensing of numerous television programs, beginning in 1972 with Thunder Mask.[1] The first anime series it produced was Sunrise's Invincible Super Man Zambot 3, after which the company produced numerous others. In 1979, it produced Mobile Suit Gundam.[1]
In October 2019, Bandai Namco Holdings announced plans to acquire Sotsu, a move which would grant the company rights to the entire Gundam franchise.[2] The next month, however, Chicago, Illinois-based investment firm RMB Capital forced Bandai Namco to raise the tender offer price for Sotsu in a follow-on tender offer targeted at the general shareholders of Sotsu.[3] On March 1, 2020, Sotsu finally became a fully owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco.[4]
Source:[6]
