FUNimation’s parent company, Navarre, issued a formal press release earlier this week confirming the acquisition of Kai for North American distribution. There is nothing in here that we did not already know from its original announcement during their Q3 Fiscal 2010 earnings conference call, but it was good to see it get a little more attention, none-the-less:

FUNimation Entertainment Acquires Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball Z Kai
Kai Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Dragon Ball Z Debut

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb 25, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — Navarre Corporation (Nasdaq:NAVR) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary FUNimation(R) Entertainment and Japanese powerhouse producer Toei Animation Co., Ltd. have entered into a multi-year agreement for the U.S. anime leader to distribute the latest chapter of the genre-establishing Dragon Ball franchise, “Dragon Ball Z Kai.”

To celebrate 2009’s 20th anniversary of the megahit series Dragon Ball Z, Toei Animation, Shueisha Inc. and Dragon Ball creator Mr. Akira Toriyama created “Dragon Ball Z Kai” in which the Dragon Ball Z story is retold to more closely follow Mr. Toriyama’s original tale about a brave young warrior named Goku.

A project personally overseen by Mr. Toriyama, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” has been re-edited and re-made using the latest in digital technology, including a full-HD re-mastering of the original film.

Now featuring updated opening and closing sequences, renewed soundtracks and a re-recording of the series by key members of the original voice cast, “Dragon Ball Kai” premiered on Japan’s Fuji Television Network in April 2009 and will be available in the U.S. on DVD and Blu-ray beginning this Spring.

“Dragon Ball Z Kai has been hotly anticipated in the states,” said Gen Fukunaga, president and CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. “We are pleased to come together with Toei and offer passionate fans, who have been waiting for developments in the Dragon Ball universe, the opportunity to see the new series.”

FUNimation Entertainment will begin releasing the series on DVD and Blu-ray starting with Part One on May 18, 2010.