Animation Studio House of Cool Sells to Teletubbies Owner WildBrain In $11.3M Deal

Animation producer WildBrain has unveiled a deal to acquire House of Cool for $15.5 million in Canadian cash and stock (about $11.3 million in U.S. dollars).

The owner of Teletubbies will pay for the transaction with $10.25 million in issued WildBrain shares and $5.25 million in cash. The management of Toronto-based House of Cool also has an earn-out of up to $6 million based on the future collection of outstanding production tax credits from the closing of the deal.

House of Cool specializes in early-stage animation pre-production, which develops and sets creative choices on the look, feel, style and pacing of an animated project ahead of full production. As part of the deal, House of Cool co-founders Wes Lui and Ricardo Curtis will be joining the WildBrain Studios senior management team as co-general managers of their company, and reporting to Josh Scherba, president of WildBrain, who oversees the content and studio businesses.

“The acquisition also establishes a new entry point for IP owners to engage with WildBrain’s 360-degree offering across production, distribution and consumer products licensing,” Scherba said in a statement on Tuesday.

“As a fiercely independent operator for the last two decades, it would require something special for House of Cool to join another studio. WildBrain is that special. WildBrain has industry-leading expertise in production, distribution and licensing, and its reach on multiple platforms greatly expands our ability and scope to connect with audiences,” House of Cool’s Curtis added about joining the Canadian animation production giant, which has a major animation studio in Vancouver.

WildBrain already has around 80 artists in pre-production, who will work closely with the target company’s facility in Toronto. House of Cool credits in pre-production include Despicable Me for Illumination; The Angry Birds franchise for Rovio and Sony Pictures Animation; and The Peanuts Movie, Ferdinand, and the Ice Age and Rio franchises for 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.

The transaction is expected to close in WildBrain’s fiscal fourth quarter, subject to conditions.

Teletubbies IP owner WildBrain recently saw Netflix debut a reboot of the popular pre-school kids series that sees the four Teletubbies interacting and discovering their world.