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![]() Logo used since 2007 | |
![]() Headquarters in Suginami, Tokyo | |
Native name | 株式会社創通 |
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Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Sōtsū |
Formerly | Toyo Agency Co., Ltd. (1965-1977) Sotsu Agency Co., Ltd. (1977-2007) |
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Advertising |
Founded | October 1, 1965 |
Headquarters | Ogikubo, , 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 (2020–present) |
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, Bandai Namco Filmworks.
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]