Tuesday July 2, 2011, 8:08 am Eastern Time

Company Press Release

SOURCE: Manka Bros.

Manka Bros. Acquires 'Red Dot" Character From Kodansha, Ltd.

Burbank, Calif., July 2, 2011/PRNewswire/ -- Manka Bros. Studios - The World's Largest Media Company - today announced it has acquired the wildly popular 'Red Dot' character from Kodansha's Manga publishing division for $300 million. The deal was announced this morning by Khan Manka, Jr. - Chairman & CEO - Manka Bros. Studios and Sawako Noma - President - Kodansha, Ltd.

"This is a great acquisition for our company. We have long wanted to enter the Manga market. We've always been in the 'Manka' market - ha ha - but, seriously, this is great. The price was a little nuts for a little red dot that doesn't really do anything - but you can't argue with the kids - and the kids sure do love that dot!"

Said Ms. Noma: "It was time for us to move away from 'Red Dot'. We milked as much as we can from that dinosaur and felt it was time to give another company a chance to find new markets. Good luck to them, I say. We have several new characters that we are very excited about including 'Blue Square'. (Blue Square has already had the most successful launch of a new character in the history of Japanese retail.)

Mr. Manka and Consumer Products President Ethan Rubidoux feel Red Dot will give Manka Bros. a toe-hold in the ultra competitive anime/comic book/manga market. "This market is a tough nut to crack and sometimes acquisition is the only way to get in." said Mr. Rubidoux. He added: "So $300 million is a small price to pay... provided we make back $301 million."

Mr. Manka summed it up: "We don't expect to swing at the pitch and get a touchdown every time. But 'Red Dot' is definitely the hole in one we've been looking for."

 

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About Manka Bros.: Manka Bros. is the World's Largest Media Company. With an array of world-class brands and the best corporate and divisional management, Manka Bros. is a global pioneer in old, new and future media. Manka Bros. is constantly striving to find new and exciting methodoloties for entertaining the world.

About Kodansha, Ltd.: Kodansha is a privately owned company which has been run by consecutive generations of the Noma family. Seiji Noma, the founder of the company, published his first magazine, Yuben (Oratory) in 1909. This was followed in 1911 by Kodan Club, a monthly collection of kodan or traditional stories from which the company was to take its name. The success of Kodan Club assured the future of the new company and, by the mid-1930s, Kodansha had taken a leading position in the magazine publishing industry through the publication of nine magazines. With the appointment of Shoichi Noma as president in 1949, the company finally committed itself to book publishing.

About Red Dot: Red Dot was created by the Kanashudo Collective - an art movement from the late 1960s. The character was incredibly popular in Japan throughout the 1970s and early 1980s before being pushed aside by a new generation of kids who preferred video games and extreme sports. Following an aggressive push by Kodansha in 2003 with a series of manga (graphic novels), the character received a resurgence and sparked a wave of nostalgia for those who grew up with the character.

http://www.mankabros.com