Tom Yoda, chairman of Japanese distributor and producer Gaga Corporation, has sold a 51% stake in the company to two local investment groups.
Following the issue of new shares, Huis Ten Bosch will hold 36% of Gaga, while Creek and River will hold 15%. Both companies are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Yoda will retain the remaining 49% in his own name and through his TY Limited company.
The value of the cash injection was not disclosed. The company said that the purpose of the cash raising is to “increase the capital base and diversify business platforms.”
“There is no change in corporate strategy or management team (due to the capital injection.) Gaga will keep accelerating its business further and strive to become a new entertainment enterprise, with its core business of film distribution and production in Gaga’s spirit.”
The 30 year old company has twice previously changed its structure. It has managed to weather problems in the Japanese industry that have weakened numerous independent players. In the last decade a succession of small distributors have filed for bankruptcy or fallen in to the arms of larger corporations. Meanwhile Japanese audiences have lost some of their appetite for Hollywood blockbusters and foreign-language independent titles, increasingly favoring Japanese mainstream fare instead.
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