| Sotsu Co., Ltd. | |
| Native Name: | 株式会社創通 |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Romanized Name: | Kabushiki gaisha Sōtsū |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Location: | Chūō, Tokyo |
| Key People: | Hideyuki Nanba (president) Yūji Nasu (representative chairman) Akihiro Yuasa (representative president) |
| Area Served: | Japan |
| Industry: | Advertising |
| Revenue: | 414.750 million |
| Revenue Year: | 2019 |
| Num Employees: | 29 |
| Num Employees Year: | 2019 |
| Parent: | Bandai Namco Filmworks (2020–present) |
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,[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 . The agency was first listed in the JASDAQ stock exchange in 2003.[1] On April 1, 2007, the company changed its name to .[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]