RIVA Studios Bids for TeamTO

Italy’s RIVA Studios has made a bid to acquire France’s TeamTO, subject to approval from the Commercial Court of Paris.

The proposed sale follows TeamTO’s announcement of insolvency in September. TeamTO began discussions with RIVA Studios co-founders Marco Balsamo and Tara Demren five months ago, exploring collaborative opportunities that have since “solidified in response to the studio’s financial pressures.”

Balsamo and Demren have assembled a seasoned acquisition team, including producer, director and illustrator Jay Oliva of Lex and Otis Studios.

The planned restructuring would create three divisions within TeamTO: a production company, a service studio and an R&D technology company. The reorganization aims to preserve 70 percent of permanent and temporary positions and 100 percent of fixed-term contracts.

Guillaume Hellouin, TeamTO’s president, stated, “These are people who know the studio well, and who couldn’t bring themselves to see so much talent and ability to deliver ambitious projects to an international audience disappear.”

Corinne Kouper, senior VP of production and development, added, “The aim of this offer is to ensure the long-term viability of the business (i.e. current productions and projects under development). It will enable the teams to bounce back on solid footing with a shareholder base that has the resources to sustain the business, while retaining its world-renowned talent, together with the support of its long standing, well-established clients and partners.”

Jean-Baptiste Spieser, CTO, said: “I would be thrilled to join forces with Marco Balsamo and his team. TeamTO’s R&D has already achieved remarkable breakthroughs for the studio, but by teaming up with Marco, we could elevate these advances across the entire industry. Together, we could deliver cutting-edge solutions that empower animation artists worldwide to fully realize their creative potential.”