KRAFTON (CEO Kim Chang-han) has made a strategic investment in ADK Group, formalizing a global collaboration. Under this partnership, the two companies will respond to the rapid growth of the global animation industry and jointly pursue expansion of their core business areas.

On June 24, KRAFTON’s board of directors approved the acquisition of BCJ-31, a subsidiary of Bain Capital Japan (CEO Yuji Sugimoto). The acquisition consideration is JPY 75 billion (approximately KRW 710.3 billion, or $500 million USD). BCJ-31 is the parent company of ADK Holdings, which in turn holds the major subsidiaries under the ADK Group. Upon closing, ADK will become a consolidated affiliate of KRAFTON.

ADK is one of Japan’s top three integrated advertising agencies, having accumulated specialized expertise across the entire creative spectrum—from content planning and production to advertising and marketing—and participated in more than 300 animation production committees. As of 2024, its annual transaction volume reached approximately JPY 348 billion.

KRAFTON is seeking to leverage its intersection with the fast-growing global animation market to create new synergies for expanding its game-focused IP. This acquisition aligns with that strategy: it broadens the potential for collaboration between animation and games and strengthens KRAFTON’s content and media business base in Japan as part of a mid- to long-term strategic plan. Through the ADK partnership, KRAFTON will spotlight each company’s core strengths and, building on their respective industry foundations, advance concrete joint initiatives in phases.

In particular, by combining ADK’s animation planning and production capabilities with KRAFTON’s global game-development and service expertise, the two companies intend to co-create new sources of added value—while preserving their distinct corporate identities—that neither could achieve alone. They will also explore long-term opportunities to expand across Japan’s broader content industry by linking KRAFTON’s game-business know-how with the advertising and media infrastructure ADK has built over its roughly 70-year history.

Kim Chang-han, KRAFTON’s CEO, said that ADK brings comprehensive insight into Japan’s content sector along with outstanding skills in everything from animation planning and production to advertising, marketing, and media operations. He added that through their partnership, KRAFTON will keep uncovering fresh intersections between games and animation, seamlessly blend the strengths of both companies, and create new prospects in the global content arena.