Nippon TV to become top shareholder of Studio Ghibli after search for successor

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese broadcaster Nippon Television Holdings said on Thursday it would acquire 42.3% of Studio Ghibli to become the top shareholder of the animation studio best known for hit films such as "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro".

In a joint statement with Nippon Television, Studio Ghibli said it had been studying a succession plan with director and founder Hayao Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki reaching 82 and 75, respectively.

Goro Miyazaki, Miyazaki's eldest son and an animation film director himself, had been floated as a candidate several times but he believed it would be difficult to shoulder the studio's future on his own, the statement said.

Goro Miyazaki "felt the company should be under left to someone else's care, (and) has firmly declined," it said.

Studio Ghibli settled on Nippon TV, with which it has a long-standing relationship, it said. Nippon Television Holdings' subsidiary Nippon Television Network Corp will take the stake for an undisclosed amount.

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)