Posted on 5/27/126 by Colin Vassallo
New Japan Pro-Wrestling changed ownership overnight, with
Bushiroad, its previous owner, exiting and selling its
shares to TV Ashai and CyberAgent.
TV Ashai, which has the rights for NJPW programming in the
country, already owned almost 23% of the company and
received a additional 3,550,200 shares for a total of 46.3%
stake in the company. TV Ashai also has rights to the whole
NJPW video library.
CyberAgent, which owns Pro Wrestling NOAH, Tokyo Joshi Pro,
and DDT Pro Wrestling in Japan, received 6,950,200 shares
for an equal 46.3% ownership of New Japan. The company also
owns and operates Abema, the streaming service which
currently has the rights to WWE programming in Japan.
WWE is moving to Netflix in Japan later this year.
Bushiroad still owns Stardom, which was previously owned by
New Japan Pro-Wrestling but a transaction earlier this year
moved the promotion to Bushiroad. Bushiroad has owned NJPW
since 2012.
In a statement, NJPW said, “Currently, we have no plans to
make any changes to our various business operations,
including the events we organize, as a result of this Share
Transfer. We would like to express our gratitude to
Bushiroad, which has supported our business for many years
as our largest shareholder, and we look forward to working
together with TV Asahi and CyberAgent to further expand our
business.”