Amar Chitra Katha Receives Equity Investment

MUMBAI: ACK Media, publisher of India’s best-known children’s comic series, Amar Chitra Katha—the basis of a television series for Cartoon Network in India—has received an equity investment from Elephant Capital.

Elephant Capital has acquired a "significant minority stake" in the company for £3.2 million. Elephant Capital’s co-investment vehicle will also be investing £500,000, and Gaurav Burman, managing partner of Elephant Capital, will be making an additional, personal co-investment of £300,000 million.

ACK has a catalogue of more than 500 print and 100 digital products. Its leading brands include Amar Chitra Katha, which retells tales from Indian epics, mythology, history and folklore; Tinkle, a children’s magazine published monthly since 1980; and Karadi Tales, an audio/video series for preschool children, launched in 1996.

ACK will use the financing form Elephant to expand further in the TV, film, home video and merchandise areas. Amar Chitra Katha and Karadi Tales recently launched on Cartoon Network India and Disney Channel India, respectively, and there are two animated films in the works with Cartoon Network India.