- Mediawan and ON kids & family
announce having entered into exclusive talks with a view to the
former acquiring a 51% to 55% majority stake in the latter
- A strategic operation for Mediawan,
which will join forces with the European leader in the production
of animated content with internationally reckoned global franchises
like The Little Prince, Playmobil, Iron Man, Chaplin and, most
recently, Miraculous Ladybug
- The ON kids & family group’s
co-founders, Aton Soumache and Dimitri Rassam, and the main
shareholders, including Thierry Pasquet, will team up with
Mediawan. Aton Soumache will also continue to manage the Group as
ON kids & family’s CEO
- Mediawan’s investment will be partly
achieved through a capital increase allowing ON kids & family
to accelerate its growth and its international positioning as a
leading player in animation in Europe with worldwide
recognition.
- ON kids & family produces major
international audiovisual creations by developing emblematic brands
with considerable commercial potential, and will continue to
develop high-end content via the creation of powerful franchises
and the management of world-renowned intellectual property
Regulatory News:
Mediawan (Ticker: MWD – ISIN: FR0013247137) (Paris:MDW),
an independent European audiovisual content platform, is continuing
its development by entering into exclusive talks with the
shareholders of ON kids & family, a major European
player in the production of animated content for children, with a
view to acquiring a majority stake.
Backed by a joint project and a shared vision of the
Entertainment sector, Mediawan and ON kids & family want, via
this strategic operation, to establish a very strong presence on
the European and international markets. This collaboration will
thus allow Mediawan to become one of the world’s very top
independent players in animated content, with an established
presence in the production of successful television series and
feature films, thanks to a catalogue of exceptional brands (The
Little Petit Prince, Playmobil, Miraculous Ladybug, Robin Hood,
Little Nick, Iron Man, Chaplin, Drôles de petites bêtes, etc.) and
very strong working relationships with the largest international
audiovisual groups (Warner, Paramount, Universal, 20th Century Fox,
Disney, Lionsgate, Open Road, Pathé, SND, Orange Studio,
Studiocanal, Wildbunch, Netflix, TF1, France Télévisions, Groupe
M6, Groupe Lagardère, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Planeta,
Globosat, ZDF, WDR, RTS, RTBF, Rai Fiction, De Agostini, Radio
Canada, TéléQuébec, JCCTV, Discovery, Pop TV).
“This operation is a milestone that will enable us to
significantly accelerate our development strategy in the production
of premium content while marking our arrival on the buoyant
animated films and series market, which represent strategic avenues
of expansion for Mediawan for the coming years. Aton, Dimitri and
Thierry have accomplished remarkable work in making ON kids &
family a globally-acclaimed animated content player. We are eager
to work with them to collectively pursue the development of a
leading European group in the premium content,” said
Pierre-Antoine Capton, Mediawan’s Chairman.
“We are delighted to be able to join forces with a company
driven by its globally-recognized founders, Pierre-Antoine Capton,
Matthieu Pigasse and Xavier Niel, with whom we share a common
dynamic of success, ambition and international reach. We firmly
believe we have found a partner that shares our strategic vision.
Mediawan will also be capable of best accompanying ON kids &
family’s growth ambitions while preserving its entrepreneurial
spirit geared towards innovation, creativity of its talented staff
and very strong relationships it enjoys with all its partners.
Teaming up with Mediawan opens a new chapter in our Group’s
history, accompanied by a new challenge that we fully intend to
meet in order to pursue our ambition of strengthening our presence
on the global Kids & Family Entertainment market,” added
Aton Soumache, President, CEO and co-founder of the ON kids
& family group.
Presentation of the ON kids &
family group
Because it is more and more difficult to enable increasingly
courted audiences to dream, ON kids & family produces major
global audiovisual creations by developing emblematic brands with
substantial development potential across all media.
Thanks to its 5 strategic studios located in Paris, Montreal,
Luxembourg, Los Angeles and Hyderabad (India), which have more than
500 staff between them, ON kids & family is capable of
attracting the most talented people and raising substantial
financial resources. It brings together creators and partners to
develop brands via various formats: cinema & television,
merchandising, publishing and digital.
Leader in the production of kids & family animated content,
a sector seeing buoyant global growth, the ON kids & family
group’s strength is its ability to capitalize on both a strong
portfolio of preexisting brands based on classical works from
European and international cultural heritage (The Little Prince,
Playmobil, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Drôles de petites bêtes, Little
Nick, Chaplin, Iron Man) and innovative original creations with
substantial global potential thanks to its unique know-how
(Miraculous Ladybug, Zak Storm, Seven & me, Mune, etc.)
ON kids & family is behind the Little Prince animated
feature film by Kung Fu Panda director Mark Osborne, which was
released in more than 120 countries in 2015/2016 and which rapidly
became the most successful French-made animated film abroad, with
over 20 million people watching it and box-office receipts of $120
million. Premiering at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival as part of the
“Official Selection”, The Little Prince notably won Best Animated
Feature Film at the César Awards in 2016 and the Children’s Award
at the BAFTAs in 2017.
Via its ON Animation Studios entity, ON kids & family is
currently producing the Playmobil animated film in its Montreal
studios. This is the first part of a worldwide franchise, has an
$80 million budget and is due for global release in April 2019. It
is being directed by Lino Di Salvo, who has already worked on the
animation of Frozen and Raiponce for Disney. With its
state-of-the-art technological tools, ON kids & family is today
one of the few independent animation studios capable of producing
major feature films whilst bringing together talented people from
around the world.
The Group’s brands, developed in-house or under copyright or
with strategic partners, whether television series or feature
films, also generate considerable Licensing & Merchandising
revenue. By working, prior to the financing of its projects, with
leading toy manufactures on this market (Playmobil, Bandai,
Playmates or Hape Toys), and through the setting up of strong
partnerships, ON kids & family has put the Licensing &
Merchandising aspect at the very heart of its strategy.
Today, ON kids & family has established itself as a major
European player in the creation and production of animated content
for children and families, for television, cinema and digital
platforms. ON kids & family will generate revenues in excess of
€35 million in 2017 and anticipates buoyant growth that will take
revenue to over €80 million in 2019.
Integration within
Mediawan
Mediawan is continuing its strategic development as presented at
the time of the acquisition of Groupe AB in March 2017: by teaming
up with leading players in their sector of activity, Mediawan is
gradually building an independent European leader in premium
audiovisual content deployed across several verticals:
- animated content, with the
planned majority investment in ON kids & family, leading studio
in the production of animated content for children in Europe;
- documentaries, with the
acquisition in July 2017 of CC&C, a key player on this segment
with, in particular, the Apocalypse series broadcast in more than
165 countries worldwide;
- fiction, with numerous
opportunities currently being looked into in order to strengthen
Mediawan’s already-substantial offering built through Groupe
AB.
This operation in the animated content sector thus represents a
major milestone in Mediawan’s development, and perfectly meets the
Group’s strategic goals: programs produced and distributed around
the world, premium content with recognized and highly-identifiable
brands, substantial catalogue value driven by the development of
digital channels, buoyant growth prospects and, most importantly, a
pool of exceptionally-talented people. Furthermore, it will make it
possible to develop usage of the existing catalogue, which is a key
strategic pillar and one of the strengths of animated content on a
market that is undergoing an in-depth transformation with the
recent arrival of new players from the digital sector, and a
substantial appetite for OTT platforms and digital portals such as
YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. All these players are
opening up new avenues of development that it is crucial to capture
and control, thanks to the right tools and detailed knowledge of
the current market.
Details of the operation
According to the terms of the agreement, Mediawan agrees to
acquire a portion of the shares held by minority shareholders, and
to simultaneously subscribe to a reserved capital increase in order
to have a majority stake of between 51% and 55% in ON kids &
family, obtained via:
- the acquisition of the shares held by
financial investors, for approximately €30-35 million (part of
which could be paid in new Mediawan shares);
- a €15 million capital increase, in
order to enable ON kids & family to accelerate its ambitious
development plan.
Next steps
The exclusivity agreement concluded between the parties will
enable the finalization of transactional documents and the legal
reorganization of the ON kids & family group.
Closing of the transaction will also be subject to the lifting
of the usual conditions precedent for this type of operation.
About Mediawan
Mediawan was incorporated in December 2015 as a Special Purpose
Acquisition Company (SPAC) for the purpose of acquiring one or more
targeted operating businesses or companies in the traditional and
digital media content and entertainment industries in Europe. The
Company was formed by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and
Matthieu Pigasse, and raised €250 million in April 2016 from an
initial public offering on the Euronext regulated market in
Paris.
In March 2017, Mediawan acquired Groupe AB and thus became an
independent leader in audiovisual content in French-speaking
Europe. The Group is active in the production and distribution of
television series, TV movies, cartoons and documentaries and in the
publication of TV channels and associated digital services.
With the acquisition of CC&C in July 2017, Mediawan
continued its growth strategy in international content in the field
of fiction, documentaries and animated content.
For further information, please visit the Mediawan website
(www.mediawan.fr).
About ON kids & family
Co-founded by Aton Soumache and Dimitri Rassam, ON kids &
family is a globally-acclaimed independent European studio in the
production of animated content for children and families, mainly
television series and feature films with a global reach. With close
to 500 staff in Paris, Montreal, Los Angeles, Hyderabad and
Luxembourg, ON kids & family brings together creators and
partners from around the world to develop brands through various
formats: animated feature films and series, licensing &
merchandising, digital platforms and digital content. The Group
combines innovation, technology and international talent to create
wonderful magical universes for children and families with its many
productions, including The Little Prince, Miraculous, Little Nick
and Seven & me, which generate record audiences and become
major global successes. ON kids & family is currently working
on the production, in Montreal, of its next animated blockbuster,
Playmobil, the first film in a global franchise, whose worldwide
release is scheduled for April 2019.
For further information, please visit the ON kids & family
website (http://www.onkidsandfamily.com).
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MEDIAWANinvestors@mediawan.eupress@mediawan.euorNewCapInvestor
RelationsMarc Willaume, +33 (0)1 44 71 00
13mediawan@newcap.euorNewCapMedia RelationsNicolas Merigeau,
+33 (0)1 44 71 98 55mediawan@newcap.eu