Navarre Corporation has sold anime powerhouse FUNimation to an investment group including founder Gen Fukunaga for $24 million in cash, the company announced Monday. Navarre will be FUNimation’s exclusive distributor and its logistics fulfillment services provider.

 

The sale completes a divestment process begun last May (see “FUNimation on the Block”). There was some concern that the company would not be sold due to an absence of satisfactory offers as recently as January (see “Sale of FUNimation Could Be Halted”).

 

The $24 million price represents a substantial loss for Navarre, which acquired FUNimation for $100 million in cash and $15 million in stock in 2005 (see “Navarre Completes FUNimation Acquisition”). Only about an $11 million loss remains on Navarre’s books, according to the announcement; the rest has presumably been written off as impairment charges in previous periods. Navarre will have the fulfillment and distribution relationship with FUNimation as an ongoing source of profit, however, and has now accomplished its goal of getting out of the publishing business.