It was announced that the Tokyo-based light novel publisher, Overlap, has received approval to offer 40% of its holding company’s shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company is prepared to go public beginning in early October.
Many are seeing this as a sign of the growing popularity of light novels in Japan, signalling a possible boom for the industry, mainly in the digital-first market, citing fantasy titles creating a boom in the isekai genre.
Overlap was founded in 2012 by its current president, Katsuharu Nagata, following the acquisition of Media Factory by KADOKAWA CORPORATION.
As part of going public, Nippon Investment Company will be relinquishing part of its stake in Overlap. They initially invested in the company in 2022. This is due to them owning 59% of the company currently.
In addition to light novels, Overlap has also been the publisher for Pokémon strategy guides. They ended their fiscal year in August 2024 with a net worth of ¥8.4 billion ($56.9 million), which was an 8% increase over 2023. 78% of the company’s total revenue comes from light novel titles.
Source: Animenomics Newsletter
