Sega of America announced on Thursday via a press release that it has finalized its acquisition of Atlus USA. Sega will now publish all of Atlus USA's games in North America.

Although Sega has the publishing rights to Atlus, Sega stated that the the two companies will continue to work independently.

Naoto Hiraoka, CEO of Atlus USA, said regarding the acquisition:

After nearly a year working under the Sega Games division, both Sega of America and Atlus U.S.A. have thrived and released a combined total of 23 game products. Between Atlus' ability to localize and release Japanese video game products efficiently and the strength of Sega of America's reputation as a leading publisher in the industry, the situation could not be more symbiotic for both companies.

Atlus' former parent company Index Corporation came under suspicion for improper accounting in June 2013. The former heads of Index were later arrested in 2014 for allegedly improper accounting via fictitious transactions.

Index Corporation filed for civil rehabilitation bankruptcy in summer 2013. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Index selected Sega as its sponsor from a group of about 20 bidders to transfer its business operations and maintain its value. Sega Sammy Holdings and Index Corporation confirmed Sega Sammy's takeover in September 2013. After the acquisition, Sega split Index into two different subsidiaries: Index and Atlus.

Sega will publish Atlus' Persona 5 PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 game, which is planned for a release this summer after several delays.

Sources: Gematsu; Sal Romano, Game Informer; Mike Futter via IGN