Mod edit ~ CGI

Interesting, I wonder what they plan to do with that.

Why does everyone in this thread think an American company owns the actual anime IPs?

They just own distribution.

1. It's one of the bigger anime distributors in the North America. Not sure how much business they do worldwide. They're probably one of the best companies for english dubbed anime...not that there's a high bar or anything. Dubbed anime fans probably know them well...though this means nothing to me.

2. No idea

3. I don't believe the company has a presense in Japan itself, as they don't produce anime, merely distribute and localize it. 

4. Hopefully...no changes. I already have Funimation on my PS4, and it works fine, though I can't see myself paying more for it. Funimation and Crunchyroll currently share a lot of shows, which is good for me as a consumer, since I much prefer Crunchyroll's layout for watching anime. When I first subbed to the app, Funimation owned exclusivity on Assassination Classroom and My Hero Academia, though they seem to share these shows more often now. If this purchase does anything to affect this relationship, I'll consider it a bad move as a consumer.

5. Maybe...though I don't think this purchase really signifies that. Funimation isn't an animation studio, they just distribute and translate the content.

6. It seems they bought it for cheap, so it's likely a good purchase. No idea how successful the company is, nor do I really care much...I just hope they don't do anything to affect my enjoyment of the app as it currently is. When something isn't broken...don't try to fix it.

That seems excessively harsh. These days their film division is more the exception than the rule. Even ignoring all their more boring ventures like financial services and image senors, many of their entertainment divisions are pretty solid right now (namely the TV branch of Sony Picture, Sony Music, and PlayStation).

Given Sony's own involvement with the anime industry (particularly through A-1 pictures, one of the most prominent studios in industry), and their larger pool of resources, i'm hopeful this might lead to quicker and more frequent localisations. It could all go to hell, but Funimation aren't short on room to improve. 

The top management didn't change so I think they'll operate as business as usual.

Old times?  What are you talking about?  

Sony Pictures and Sony Music are one of the worst publishers around. Sony Pictures publish too much garbage while Sony Music enforces all kinds of horrid DRM, while rumours such artist isn't treated well. Both of these are very profitable, however these issues.