Dentsu Inc., the Japanese advertising company that is also a significant sponsor of anime, has announced on Friday that it has established a subsidiary called Dentsu Entertainment USA in Santa Monica, California. The wholly-owned subsidiary will develop original entertainment content and promote international licensing with US$358,000 in capital.

According to Dentsu, the new subsidiary was preceded by a special team formed within the existing Dentsu America branch in January of 2008. That team determined that a new entertainment company would be the best way to expand Dentsu's entertainment business opportunities abroad.

Dentsu Entertainment USA will take over management of Dentsu's interests in the Chub City toy franchise and the Deltora Quest anime franchise. It will also handle the licensing for the Mameshiba character franchise.

Dentsu had already announced in January that it was developing a 52-episode Japanese-animated television series and toy line called Monsuno for North America, Europe, and Asia next year. Dentsu developed this property with Jakks Pacific (the third largest American toy company) and DCI-LA, the Los Angeles-based unit that Dentsu had opened in 2008. Dentsu Entertainment USA will now form a strategic partnership with JAKKS Pacific to produce Monsuno, and the two companies will also form a joint venture later this month to manage the franchise's worldwide licensing.

Dentsu once owned a majority stake in Pioneer Entertainment, which it renamed as Geneon Entertainment in 2003. It transfered its majority ownership to NBC Universal's Universal Pictures International Entertainmnent (UPIE) in 2008.