Breaking: Kodansha and Dai Nippon buy Vertical [UPDATED]

ANN has the scoop: Vertical, Inc., publisher of Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha and some of the most interesting manga currently on the market—Twin Spica, Chi’s Sweet Home, Peepo Choo, 7 Billion Needles—has been purchased by Kodansha, the largest publisher in Japan, and the printing company Dai Nippon, with Kodansha buying 46.7% of the company and Dai Nippon buying 46%. (It’s not clear who gets the other 6.3%, or what they would do with it.) UPDATE: Vertical’s Ed Chavez is saying on Twitter that the companies are investing in Vertical, rather than buying it.

This may not entirely be about manga: Vertical also publishes Japanese novels, cookbooks, and craft books (Aranzi Aronzo’s cute stuffed-animal patterns among them) for the U.S. audience. But they have also licensed two manga that riveted readers’ attention: Tezuka’s Princess Knight and the wine manga Drops of God, as well as No Longer Human, by Genkaku Picasso creator Usumaru Furuyu. The announcement did not indicate what would happen with Vertical’s current licenses, and Twitter is alive with speculation at the moment.

UPDATE: Vertical marketing director Ed Chavez has Tweeted a few comments that clarify the situation:

In response to Nick Donegan’s question of how the buyout will affect Vertical:

@ndoneagn we will stop making jokes about not bring around in 6 months…oh and we’ll finally start doing more prose again

Asked if Kodansha actually bought Vertical, Ed responded:

@raintenshi no they haven’t but they are investing in our company. Along with printing company DaiNippon Printing, Kodansha r new investors

And there’s this, in response to a user I couldn’t track down:

@progSHELL plenty. Our 2012 list has a number of non-Kodansha titles.

@progSHELL and we will retain the Vertical name and brand outside of Kodansha USA/Kodansha Comics