User:Namcokid47/Bandai Namco Holdings

Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. (株式会社バンダイナムコホールディングス), also known as the Bandai Namco Group (バンダイナムコグループ) (BNG), is a Japanese entertainment conglomorate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Holdings USA and Bandai Namco Holdings UK, are respectively headquartered in El Segundo, California and Richmond, London. All three companies produce a wide variety of products, including video games, anime, toys, arcade cabinets, and theme parks.

Bandai Namco Holdings was established on September 29, 2005 as Namco Bandai Holdings, following a merge between Namco and Bandai. Founded by Namco president and founder Masaya Nakamura and Bandai president Takeo Takasu, Namco Bandai Holdings was founded to create new potential business opportunities and as a means to unify the two iconic brands. Bandai and Namco worked independently under the new holdings company until March of 2006, where their video game operations were merged into the video game development arm Namco Bandai Games, now known as Bandai Namco Entertainment]. Bandai Namco Holdings has acquired several companies, such as Sunrise and Banpresto, as well as establishing new subsidiaries such as BXD, Megahouse, and Bandai Namco Partners.

In 2009, Bandai Namco Holdings purchased a stake of Atari's Australian division, before acquiring the company entirely in 2013. The acquisition gave Bandai Namco Holdings the ability to expand its operations into Europe, and later Australia and Asia. In 2014, the company was renamed to its current name. A corporate restructuring in 2018 was done in response to a financial decline, with multiple subsidiaries and divisions being merged or dissolved entirely. Bandai Namco holds stakes in several companies and media properties, such as anime production studio Toei Animation, game developer Monolith Soft, and news agency Anime News Network. In 2019, Bandai Namco announced plans to acquire media company Sotsu, which would grant them the full rights to the Gundam franchise.

Bandai Namco Holdings is one of the largest media companies in Japan, and the largest toy company in the world by revenue. It produces multi-million-selling video game franchises such as Tekken, Pac-Man, and Galaxian, anime series like Cowboy Bebop and Mobile Suit Gundam, and toys including model kits and the Tamagotchi and Digimon virtual pets. It also operates several theme parks, such as Namco Namja Town and Hanayashiki, and supplies arcade games to movie theaters globally.

Origins (2005—2006)
Following a series of board meetings held on May 2, 2005, video game developer Namco and toy manufacturer Bandai announced their intent to merge operations. As both companies were struggling to keep up in their increasingly-competitive industries and sales of their products continued to decline, the two believed a merge was necessary and appropriate in order to continue their operations. Bandai attempted a merge with Sega in 1997, however strong opposition from Bandai executives and the worldwide success of the Tamagotchi lead to the proposal being called off. Namco also attempted to merge with Sega in 2003 but failed after Sega instead chose to merge with Sammy Corporation.

The merge was a ¥7 billion stock swap, where Bandai acquired Namco for US$1.7 billion and swapped each of its shares for 1.5 shares of Namco Bandai Holdings. Bandai held 57% of the holding company's stock, while Namco retained the remaining 43%. Namco vice chairman Kyushiro Takagi and Bandai president Takasu were respectively promoted chairman and vice president of Namco Bandai Holdings. Upon its establishment on September 29, 2005, Namco Bandai was Japan's third-largest video game company by revenue, trailing being Nintendo and Sega Sammy. The company was headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, housed in a former Panasonic research facility. Bandai and Namco continued working independently under the new umbrella holding company as its executive departments merged.

On January 2, 2006, Namco Bandai Holdings USA was established in Anaheim, California, with a second office opening in El Segundo, California. Namco Hometek and Bandai Games—the consumer video game divisions of Namco and Bandai respectively—were merged two days later into Namco Bandai Games America, which immediately became a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings USA. On March 31, Namco and Bandai's video game, mobile phone, and business program operations were merged and transferred to a new company named Namco Bandai Games, the core video game development arm of Namco Bandai Holdings. Namco Bandai Holdings was structured into four different areas, or Content Units: Toys and Hobby (Bandai's toys), Amusement Facility (Namco's amusement parks and video arcades), Game Contents (video games), Network (mobile phone networks and services), and Visual and Music Content (anime and film production). Namco Holdings made multiple acquisitions throughout the year, including Bandai Logipal, a logistics company; Banpresto, a video game and toy producer; Sunrise, an anime and film production studio; and CCP, a producer of consumer electronics. Namco Europe was folded into Namco Bandai Networks Europe on January 1, 2007, serving as the website and mobile game division of Namco Bandai Holdings.

Corporate structure
Bandai Namco Holdings is headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Mita Building in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its North American branch, Bandai Namco Holdings USA, has offices in Anaheim and El Segundo (both in California). The company's European and Asian divisions, Bandai Namco Holdings UK and Bandai Namco Holdings Asia, are respectively headquartered in Richmond, London and Central, Hong Kong.

Bandai Namco Holdings is headed by president Mitsuaki Taguchi and chairman Shukuo Ishikawa, both of whom took their respective positions in 2018. The company's corporate structure is grounded in the relationships between its employees and subsidiaries; Bandai Namco believes that the health and motivation of its employees is necessary to sustain operations, as it allows for additional creative freedom in its array of products. As of 2019, Bandai Namco is the world's largest toy company by revenue, having accumulated over $6.5 billion. It is among the largest and most profitable companies in Japan with over ¥189.8 billion as of 2020.

Content units and subsidiaries
Bandai Namco Holdings is structured into six product areas known as Content Units: Toys and Hobby (toys), Network Entertainment (video games), Real Entertainment (amusement parks), Visual and Music Production (anime and music albums), IP Creation (creation of new intellectual properties), and Affiliated Business (supporting companies). The Network Entertainment Unit serves as the core area of the company, where it is lead by Bandai Namco Entertainment, the company's video game publishing arm. Bandai Namco Entertainment owns multiple subsidiaries, including Bandai Namco Studios, B.B. Studio, and D3 Publisher, all of which develop video games for home video game systems and cellular phones across the world. It holds multiple international divisions itself, including offices in the United States, Europe, and Taiwan.

The Toy and Hobby Unit is lead by Bandai, who designs toys and electronic devices based on licenses such as Dragon Ball, Gundam, and Sailor Moon. Bandai Spirits designs toys intended for more mature audiences, alongside prizes for video arcades, while its subsidiary Banpresto produces prize machines and redemption games. MegaHouse designs figurines and toys for candy machines, as does Heart Corporation for seasonal events. Other companies under the unit include Seeds, which produces medical equipment; Plex, a designer of goods based on licensed characters; Sun-Star, which designs and distributes stationery to consumers and Japanese school systems; CCP, a producer of sundries and consumer electronics; and Banpresto Sales, a distributor of prizes for arcades.

Bandai Namco Amusement, known as simply Namco until 2018, heads the Real Entertainment Unit. Amusement designs arcade games and maintains the company's amusement parks, including Namco Namja Town, Wonder Bowl, and its VR Zone locations. Video games designed by Amusement include Time Crisis 5, Star Wars Battle Pod, Pac-Man Racing, and Galaga Fever. In addition, Amusement provides services for Bandai Namco's "Banacoin" digital currency platform and mobile applications to promote events at its arcades. Assisting the company are Bandai Namco Technica and Bandai Namco Amusement Lab, which provide repair services and research & development (R&D) operations respectively. Hanayashiki Co., Ltd. operates Japan's oldest-surviving theme park of the same name, while PleasureCast maintains and opens amusement centers across Japan. The Visual and Music Production is hemmed by Bandai Namco Arts and Actas, anime production studios; Highway Star, a music artist manager; and Bandai Namco Live Creative, handling ticket sales and production of live concerts.

Sunrise, a Japanese anime studio known for productions such as Mobile Suit Gundam and Cowboy Bebop, is the center of the IP Creation Unit. Sunrise holds three subsidiaries—music copyright manager Sunrise Music, animation planner Sunrise Beyond, and production house Bandai Namco Pictures —which are also part of the unit. Sotsu is an advertising agency that also provides planning and productions for anime series such as Gundam. Bandai Namco's Affiliated Business comprises companies that provides it additional support and resources necessary. Companies under this unit include the product distributors Bandai Logipal and Logipal Express, finance manager Bandai Namco Business Arc, day care facility operator Kaikaya, toy distributor Happinet, graphic design studio Artpresto, and disability supporter Bandai Namco Will.