Bandai Namco announced that they have acquired an 80% stake in Bluefin’s parent company Nippon Imports LLC which, in effect, gives them control over the toy manufacturer. The also announced that they will be using this acquisition to establish a new subsidiary called Bandai Namco Collectibles. The new subsidiary is scheduled to roll out this October and will serve as an assistant to their North American toy and action figure distribution.
Bluefin was previously acting as Bandai Namco’s distributor of products for the U.S. which means nothing will really change, fundamentally. Bandai Namco will simply just have more control over their own U.S. market with this acquisition. In addition, they look to use Bluefin’s local business knowledge to assist in organizing events. Bluefin already has an established presence throughout North America at anime and comic conventions and Bandai is looking to use those resources to their benefit.
