National Entertainment Network (NEN) announced yesterday, June 11, 2024, they have agreed to sell all equity interests to Kiddleton, Inc., a Dallas-based consolidated subsidiary of GENDA Group, which is headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo.
NEN is one of the largest amusement and vending operators in the U.S. with over 30,000 cranes and bulk vending machines across 8,000+ locations and have deals with major companies like Walmart, Kroger and Denny’s. In its press release, the company stated, “Clients of NEN will see no changes in their daily operations provided by NEN.”
Since its establishment in 2019, Kiddelton has been specializing in Japanese-style prize game machines and themed rooms and, according to GENDA, has 432 “mini-locations,” micro-arcades featuring games and prizes with Japanese-style “kawaii” designs. The company said recent years have seen a growth in popularity of Japanese anime, manga and other content in the U.S.
“By placing Kiddleton’s highly unique ‘from Japan’ contents on this huge network, we believe that, combined with the needs of the market, we can expect significant business growth,” parent company GENDA said in a press release. GENDA operates a wide range of entertainment businesses, including about 700 amusement arcades such as GiGO and the karaoke chain BanBan in Japan and abroad, as well as approximately 1,200 un-staffed mini-locations. It operates in Japan, North America, mainland China, Taiwan, the U.K. and the Middle East.