SDI Media Purchased by Japanese Companies

CULVER CITY: Japanese post-production company Imagica Robot Holdings (IRHD) has partnered with the Cool Japan Fund and trading house Sumitomo Corporation to acquire 100 percent interest in the L.A.-based translation outfit SDI Media Group.

According to a statement from the Cool Japan Fund, the three entities jointly purchased stock in the media localization company for $160 million. IRHD will own a controlling 50.1 percent stake, while Cool Japan will take 49.6 percent and Sumitomo 0.3 percent. They reportedly intend to send executives to SDI Media, though they’ll leave the current management in place.

French bank BNP Paribas originally owned SDI Media, a U.S.-based outfit specializing in subtitling, dubbing and other localization services. The company operates in 37 countries in more than 80 languages, and has a client base including Netflix, Amazon, Sony and 20th Century Fox, among others.

A statement from the Cool Japan Fund, which supports the export of Japanese content, said: “Through this investment, SDI’s strength in localization will become available to the numerous domestic businesses to accelerate overseas distribution of television programs, animation, film and other Japanese content by reducing the localization cost and improving the quality, speed and efficiency while accumulating knowledge. In addition, it is expected that SDI’s international network will open new markets and accelerate distribution of Japanese content around the world.”