Sony will be buying the anime streamng service Crunchyroll from AT&T for a cool 1.175 billion —  the announcement was made Wednesday.

The buyout means that Sony’s Funimation will now handle the streaming company.

“We are excited to embark on this new journey,” said Joanne Waage, general manager of Crunchyroll, in a statement. “Crunchyroll has built a world-class brand with a passionate fan-base of over 3 million subscribers, 50 million social followers and 90 million registered users. These amazing fans have helped to propel anime into a global phenomenon. Combining the strength of the Crunchyroll brand and the expertise of our global team with Funimation is an exciting prospect and a win for the incredible art form of anime.”

“The union of Funimation and Crunchyroll is a win for anime fans around the world that will elevate the art and culture of this medium for decades to come,” Colin Decker, CEO of Funimation Global Group, said in a statement. “Combining these two great companies will be a win for fans, and enable us to compete at a truly global scale. I am honored to welcome the wonderful Crunchyroll team to a shared mission—to help everyone belong to the extraordinary world of anime.”

This will lead to interesting competition on the anime streaming service landscape as other streaming services are still just ramping up their anime offerings (ie Netflix)

Source: Sony, Crunchyroll