Acquisition closed
Sony acquires Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures (1989)
Sony completed the acquisition of Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures on 8 November 1989 for $3.4 billion.[1]
Sony acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment for about $3.4 billion in cash, roughly $4.9 billion including assumed debt. Japanese ownership of a Hollywood studio was politically contentious, and Sony wrote down billions on the business a few years later before it eventually became one of its most profitable divisions.
Deal facts
- Announced
- Closed
- Value
- $3.4 billion (equity value)
- Buyer
- Sony
- Seller
- —
- Assets
- Sony Pictures, Columbia Pictures
- Regulatory review
- None recorded
Ownership changes recorded from this deal
| Owner | Owned | Relationship | Stake | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sony | Sony Pictures | owns | 100% | 1989-11-08 | present |
| Sony | Columbia Pictures | owns | 100% | 1989-11-08 | present |
Who owns these brands today?
- Sony Pictures — owned by Sony since 1989
- Columbia Pictures — owned by Sony since 1989
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Sony Group Corporation - company history — Sony Group Corporation, Annual report; retrieved 8 September 2026.
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