Bilibili announces acquisition of NetEase comics assets to strengthen ACG ecosystem layout

Bilibili ("Bilibili" for short) announced today that it has signed an acquisition agreement with NetEase to acquire the main assets of its NetEase Comics, including APP, website, some comics copyrights and related usage rights.

Li Ni, vice chairman and chief operating officer of Bilibili, said: NetEase Comics has rich content resources and excellent product experience. Its joining has laid a good foundation for Bilibili's newly launched comics business.

"This acquisition not only enriches Bilibili's comic copyright content, but also meets the growing demand of core users for high-quality ACG content and consolidates our position in China's ACG industry."

Fan Shaoqing, head of NetEase Comics Division, said: "Bilibili is very popular among Generation Z young people, and its diverse culture and active community ecology can promote the continued growth of comic content. We expect that the high-quality content of NetEase Comics will gain new value and release on Bilibili."

“In the future, we will continue to promote the innovation of original animation content, jointly promote the incubation, development and promotion of high-quality IP works, and promote the virtuous cycle and vigorous development of the domestic two-dimensional industry.”

It is reported that NetEase Comics, which was launched in August 2015, currently has more than 20,000 comic works and more than 600 exclusively signed domestic and foreign cartoonists.

NetEase Comics also has rich resources in overseas copyrights. It has good cooperative relationships with Shueisha, Kodansha, KADOKAWA, and SQUARE ENIX, and owns more than 1,000 overseas comic works.

Before the acquisition was officially announced, Bilibili launched its own independent APP "Bilibili Comics" on November 13. In addition to many well-known Japanese comics such as "One Piece", "Gintama", "Pokemon", and "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure", Bilibili Comics also launched many popular Chinese comics.