Quan, a Japan-based, corporate-backed character and game content creator, has agreed to merge with artist-focused talent agency Wwwaap.
Founded in 2011, Quan provides character stamps for mobile communication apps such as Line, Facebook, iMessage and WeChat. The merger will result in a merged entity dubbed Minto.
Quan raised $3.6m in 2019 from investors including Nissay Capital, ABC Dream Ventures, OLM Ventures, Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital, on behalf of insurer Nippon Life, broadcaster Asahi Broadcasting Group, animation studio OLM (formerly Oriental Light and Magic) and financial services firms Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).
Contents Innovation Program filled out the equity portion of the 2019 round, which included debt financing supplied by Mizuho Bank and SMBC, taking the company’s overall funding to about $7.2m.
Film studio Toho invested in Quan in 2017, three years after a round of similarly undisclosed size that included SMBC Venture Capital, marketing firm Dentsu’s Digital Holdings arm, brokerage Daiwa Securities’ Daiwa Corporate Investment unit and financial services group Senshu Ikeda Holdings’ Senshu Ikeda Capital subsidiary, in addition to East Ventures and IMJ Investment Partners.
Daiwa had already provided an undisclosed amount for the company in 2013 through its Daiwa PI Partners unit alongside Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, a vehicle for financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ.
The 2013 round came the year after e-commerce group Netprice and East Ventures had provided an undisclosed amount for Quan.
