Riki Group Acquires Aeroplane Productions

Russia-based Riki Group has acquired the controlling interest and consolidated 100 percent of the shares of Aeroplane Productions, producer of The Fixies.

Ilya Popov, general producer of Riki Group, will become the general producer of the consolidated company, while Aeroplane Productions Founder Georgiy Vasilyev will continue on as a creative producer of major animation projects for Aeroplane. This deal enables Riki Group to expand its portfolio of children’s media brands, strengthening its presence at the national level and enhancing its status internationally.

Previously, Riki Group acquired the Tina & Tony brand assets through an equity share purchase in Digital Television Company and the assets of the Riki Development Fund with an equity share purchase from the Inter-State Development Corporation.

Popov said: “This deal means that we are consolidating the brand portfolios of the two leading national animation studios. Since 2011, Riki Group’s assistance helped to establish and monetize The Fixies brand. At the start of the project, our company invested $3 million into the production of the series and the brand. In a considerably short time, the series has been a huge success both in Russia and internationally, making a significant contribution to the creative industry. It was made possible because of our strong team of professionals, who are still developing and implementing new and successful projects. We are very excited about joining our efforts in order to produce world-class animation products.”

Vasilyev added: “By assignment of the controlling interest in Aeroplane Group, I do hope that Production Center Riki will be able to further promote my dear Fixies, which I have worked on for over a decade of my life. For my part, I will be pleased to participate in new large-scale animation projects of Aeroplane Productions, not as the company owner and chief executive, but as a creative producer.”

Mark Zavadskiy, head of Riki Group Steering Committee, commented: “The consolidation of such a large scale of assets as those from Aeroplane Productions marks an important achievement in the transformation of the Riki Group animation holding business structure. In fact, we have put together the expertise of two unique production and business teams—in St. Petersburg and Moscow—to solve the most challenging tasks facing the development of the animation industry in Russia.”