Red Arrow’s Snowman Takes Majority Stake in Swedish Producer

MUNICH: Red Arrow Entertainment Group’s Scandinavian production arm, Snowman Productions, has purchased a majority interest in the Swedish digital production house Hard Hat.

Snowman was launched by Red Arrow in October 2010 in Sweden, later rolling out to Denmark at the start of 2011. The move to take on a majority stake in Hard Hat expands Snowman’s operations in the key growth markets of web TV and advertiser-funded programming. Among Hard Hat’s clients are SVT, Kanal 5, Procter & Gamble and Bauhaus.

Pontus Gårdinger, the CEO of Snowman Productions, said: "We’ve had our eyes on Hard Hat for quite a while, not least because of their creativity and competence in delivering outstanding quality and smart business solutions. With the acquisition of Hard Hat, we take an important step towards establishing ourselves as market leaders in production and development for other platforms such as web TV, alongside traditional TV. I couldn’t wish for a better partner for Snowman."

Mats Dicklén, the managing director of Hard Hat, added: "Snowman is one of Sweden’s most interesting and explosive companies and there was really no other plausible alternative for us. Key is to maintain Hard Hat’s identity as a small, cocky and hard-working company whose philosophy is to love the tough demands on production companies. With Snowman, we have the opportunity to continue doing things our way but with a strong support network."

Calle Schulman, Hard Hat’s creative director, commented: "This couldn’t be better news for Hard Hat. For me, it’s obvious that I now have full access to some of Sweden’s most creative brains. All other Swedish production companies treat web TV as an ugly cousin from Nynäshamn (a smaller city in Sweden). I love the fact that Snowman is smart enough to embrace us and, from today, Hard Hat + Snowman represent the most future-secured production company in Sweden."