DQE Signs Licensing Deal in Germany for The Jungle Book

HYDERABAD: DQ Entertainment International (DQE) has secured a licensing agreement for The Jungle Book with Germany’s Universal Trends, along with co-production partner ZDF Enterprises.

Universal now holds the rights to manufacture and sell products such as figurines, puzzles, board games and outdoor toys, including surprise bags, gotchaballs, key rings, fabric figures and outdoor games such as inflatables, sporting goods, beach toys and backpacks. Universal signed the deal for an estimated revenue potential of more than 2 million euros over the next three years, starting from May/June 2011, based on a 10-percent royalty to DQE.

Tapaas Chakravarti, the chairman and CEO of DQE Group, commented: "The Jungle Book as a brand has drawn tremendous equity and global recognition and our licensing agreement with Universal is further testimony to this fact. We are delighted to have Universal represent The Jungle Book in Germany, and are confident they will do justice to this brand for monetization through an interesting lineup of products that will delight consumers.

"Universal has a proven track record and DQE are confident that we couldn’t have picked a better licensing partner for The Jungle Book in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I hope this is the start of a long lasting and mutually beneficial collaboration for all the partners concerned. We have a number of similar agreements currently under negotiation which will provide us incremental and upstream revenues from further exploitation of our IPs."

Sylvia Brucker, the director of merchandising, sales and co-productions at ZDF Enterprises, said: "We are very pleased to have inked this deal with Universal Trends. The company is a well-established and renowned partner in merchandising high-caliber brands. We are convinced that the worldwide popular characters of The Jungle Book will come to new life in the creative merchandising ideas of Universal Trends."