Production I.G to Merge with Signal.MD, Strengthening Group Profitability

by Vindstot
Jan 25, 7:41 PM | 22 Comments

IG Port, the parent company of animation studios Production I.G and Signal.MD, announced the merger of these two subsidiaries. This move, approved during the January 24 board meeting, will position Production I.G as the surviving entity while Signal.MD dissolves. The merger, effective June 1, 2025, aims to optimize resource allocation and enhance profitability across the IG Port group.

Background and Rationale
The merger comes at a time of significant growth for IG Port. In its financial report for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending May 2025, IG Port reported consolidated revenue of 7.69 billion yen (approx. US$49.2 million), a 47% year-over-year increase. Licensing revenue surged by 169.5%, driven by international sales of Kaijuu 8-gou (Kaiju No. 8), box office earnings from Haikyuu!! Movie: Gomisuteba no Kessen (Haikyu!! Movie: The Dumpster Battle), and continued success with Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan). Licensing now accounts for over half of the company's income, underscoring its strategic importance.

Despite this growth, the animation production division continues to face challenges. While production revenue grew by 18.5%, losses widened to 699 million yen (approx. US$4.4 million) due to rising labor and CGI costs, extended production timelines, and increased provision for order losses. These difficulties highlight the need for streamlined operations within IG Port's subsidiaries.

By consolidating Signal.MD into Production I.G, IG Port aims to leverage shared resources and expertise, reducing overhead while ensuring quality output. This move aligns with the company's broader strategy to balance the rising costs of production with the profitability of its licensing endeavors.

Impact on Studios and Productions
Signal.MD, established in 2014, has carved a niche in animation production, contributing to projects like Net-juu no Susume (Recovery of an MMO Junkie), Platinum End, and more recently Hoshifuru Oukoku no Nina (Nina the Starry Bride) in Fall 2024.

Production I.G, a veteran studio responsible for iconic titles like Koukaku Kidoutai (Ghost in the Shell), Psycho-Pass, and Haikyuu!! (Haikyu!!), will absorb Signal.MD's operations without altering its own structure or branding. The fate of Signal.MD's brand name remains uncertain.

Strategic Outlook
While IG Port's overall performance remains robust, the animation production division's ongoing losses highlight a critical area for improvement. The merger reflects IG Port's proactive approach to addressing inefficiencies while capitalizing on the booming demand for licensed content. Looking ahead, IG Port expects consolidated revenue for the fiscal year to reach 12.99 billion yen (approx. US$83.22 million), surpassing its previous record set in 2022.

The merger of Signal.MD and Production I.G signals IG Port's commitment to long-term growth by streamlining operations, optimizing profitability, and strengthening its position as a leader in the animation industry.

Source: Press Release, Otaku Souken, Animation Business Journal

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20 of 22 Comments Recent Comments

I really didnt like signal md, they really made Platinum End look like a low quality show even though it has an amazing story.
Production I.G is my second favorite studio though so this is a good thing

Feb 8, 1:07 PM by Shidoteki

This merger seems like a strategic move for IG Port, especially with licensing revenue growing so rapidly. Integrating Signal.MD into Production I.G will help streamline operations and manage rising production costs. However, one question that arises is what will happen to Signal.MD's unique identity and creative vision? Will their animation style and approach still stand apart from Production I.G post-merger?

Feb 2, 9:57 AM by Hussain1001

I didn't watch many Signal MD anime anyway.

Jan 28, 8:35 PM by malvarez1

While I keep an eye on industry news like this, I don't consider myself very savvy on the topic but my common senses are tingling and telling me such discrepancy between licencing and production revenues might mean studios (if you can call these conglomerates that anymore) will gravitate towards churning out global market slop instead of producing series in the spirit of what made anime a very defined niche in the first place. Production I. G. is one of very few long established studios with solid IP left, so what sounds like more and bigger production committees doesn't bode well in my book.

Jan 27, 12:35 PM by Antanaru

@animegamer245 I can believe that the reason for the current fashion for pseudo-original anime that feels like an adaptation of non-existent battle shonen or CGDCT manga was one famous virus from 2020, but before that we still got quite interesting original anime. Suffice it to recall the popularity and development that Psycho-Pass and Madoka achieved. Yes, I am aware that, ironically, they have the same author.

Jan 26, 6:43 PM by RobertBobert

@ims-tokyo The stories of JJK or Oshi no Ko show that owning expensive IP is also not a panacea, because the author who lays golden eggs for you can either completely destroy his health due to the realities of the manga industry and gradually ruin the final work whose adaptation you have made your product of passion, or softly speaking, being a complete asshole and imagining himself as a Hollywood visionary, writing such a terrible ending that a previously undisputed hit will turn into a time bomb for everyone was involved in its really high-quality and amazing adaptations.

And I won’t even talk about the fact that nowadays even cult authors like Yabuki are leaking after disastrous adaptations of not their best works. I'm really afraid that the anime industry is one step away from the Hollywood formula, where the idea of any risk will drive studios into a state of stupor. You could say that this wouldn't be as much of an issue for anime due to the lack of a local equivalent of woke vs anti-woke culture wars, but it has isekai and a history of abusing trends.

Jan 26, 5:55 PM by RobertBobert

@Temperanced And almost all the studios you mentioned in some way have suffered in recent years. Either because of their own mistakes with the planning of the work process or producing, or because of their independent reasons like arson of Kyani.

Jan 26, 5:46 PM by RobertBobert

Production I.G founded I.G Port in 2007 in order to enter anime production business and to help them produce their own anime. In turn, I.G Port, founded Wit Studio in 2012 and Signal M.D in 2014.

Signal didn't work as well for them, so they just absorbed it back into the main studio.

Jan 26, 5:09 PM by watsym

Saw the news last night. More studio mergers continue as anime industry grow and the bigger studios get bigger while the smaller ones get absorbed.

Jan 26, 2:09 PM by MegamiRem

@RobertBobert If you're asking me, we're basically already there. In the past, many studios were betting that the advent of online streaming solutions would create a new market for themselves; such as the OVA era, which allowed studios (e.x. AIC) to break away from the traditional broadcasting model and create original risky/experimental content, as well as to own the IPs.

However, while streaming has benefited studios in some cases, it has only accelerated the issue imo. Animation production is a low-margin industry, and there are minimal opportunities for growth without owning the IPs. We're gonna continue to see more M&A throughout the industry to meet the evergrowing global demands for streamers.

Jan 26, 12:53 PM by ims-tokyo

Ah I will miss them, as they were the ones who made the masterpiece that is Platinum End.

But funny how Production I.G. is making so much money from licensing, cause I thought these licensors were only paying pennies to studios...

Jan 26, 11:19 AM by MadanielFL

@ims-tokyo

ims-tokyo said:
But you’re correct that there’s been a trend of major M&A. Like what AIC’s Miura mentioned in an interview—smaller studios will merge with the medium-sized studios, which in turn would merge with TV stations/producers.

Its already very much true, most of the big studios are owned by Publisher/TV Stations etc. Just look at this picture all big studios are subsidiary of big corporations. The only exceptions of big independent studio being MAPPA, KyoAni, JC STAFF, Bones, ufotable & Pierrot

Jan 26, 11:06 AM by Temperanced

@ims-tokyo It’s not that I will be very missed budget anime from small studios, but I do not like the idea that the anime industry seeks to resemble Hollywood with a dictatorship of a number of majors. How soon will we reach the stage, when they just begin to be afraid of risks due to fear of losing too much invested money?

Jan 26, 8:57 AM by RobertBobert

@RobertBobert Yes, but in this case—both studios (IG and Signal.MD) were already subsidiaries of IG Post, so this absorption won’t change anything.

But you’re correct that there’s been a trend of major M&A. Like what AIC’s Miura mentioned in an interview—smaller studios will merge with the medium-sized studios, which in turn would merge with TV stations/producers.

Jan 26, 8:52 AM by ims-tokyo

Not surprised, the production segment of the Group had always been in the red—but, IG Port has been smart in transitioning from a contractor to more of a producer role, which has been fuelling their growth in recent years.

I never really understood the point of IG Port establishing Signal.MD to only “develop digital animation tools and devices and produce animation for family audiences”—when the Group already had three animation subsidiaries (IG, Wit, and XEBEC) and Signal.MD later ended up succeeding to the majority of XEBEC’s activities after its sale to Sunrise in 2019.

Jan 26, 8:39 AM by ims-tokyo

The anime industry continues to become more monopolistic and dependent on the big players, right?

Jan 26, 8:29 AM by RobertBobert

Only thing I started to watch from Signal.MD was The Fire Hunter but it had such terrible animation I dropped it quickly.
Maybe I check out Recovery of an MMO Junkie - seems promising.

Jan 26, 4:10 AM by Krautschi

Hopefully they have a smooth transition for the employees.

Jan 26, 2:11 AM by traed

Extremely good news. Can't wait to see the results of this merge

Jan 26, 12:21 AM by Yubisoft

well production ig needs more staff anyway so a whole staff from their sister studio can help

Jan 25, 10:29 PM by deg

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