WildBrain to Acquire House of Cool

WildBrain has signed an agreement to acquire House of Cool, which specializes in preproduction capabilities for animation.

House of Cool executives and co-founders Wes Lui and Ricardo Curtis will be joining the WildBrain Studios senior management team in the newly created roles of co-general managers of House of Cool, reporting to Josh Scherba, president of WildBrain, who heads up the company’s content and studio business.

Closing consideration for the acquisition will consist of C$15.5 million, with C$10.25 million through the issuance of 4,479,406 WildBrain shares and C$5.25 million in cash. Additionally, there is an earn-out of up to C$6 million based on the collection of tax credits earned up to closing.

House of Cool will maintain operations at its Toronto facility, where its team of preproduction experts will be joining the company.

Adding House of Cool more than doubles WildBrain’s pre-production capacity, building on its existing preproduction team of approximately 80 based in Vancouver.

The House of Cool brand will be maintained as a distinct identity under the WildBrain banner.

Scherba said: “This acquisition is an investment in creative excellence. House of Cool is recognized as one of the very best preproduction companies in the global animation industry. We’re delighted to welcome Wes, Ricardo and their team on board at WildBrain, a combination of talent that will immediately broaden and deepen our collective creative strengths. Their expertise is highly complementary to our existing business, expanding and enhancing our preproduction capabilities, not only for WildBrain’s proprietary content but also for third-party projects. The acquisition also establishes a new entry point for IP owners to engage with WildBrain’s 360-degree offering across production, distribution and consumer products licensing.”

Lui said: “House of Cool’s mission is simple: bring audiences together through the artful telling of unique stories. WildBrain shares our enthusiasm for storytelling, and from the moment they first approached us, we were ecstatic about combining forces and leveraging their 360-degree approach and our expertise in story and preproduction to develop, produce and distribute premium content. We will also further be able to offer more top-level creative services for all our clients.”

Curtis added: “As a fiercely independent operator for the last two decades, it would require something special for House of Cool to join another studio. WildBrain is that special. WildBrain has industry-leading expertise in production, distribution and licensing, and its reach on multiple platforms greatly expands our ability and scope to connect with audiences. Mixed with their deep catalog of properties—many I grew up with—hitching House of Cool’s wagon to WildBrain allows us to collaborate in previously unavailable ways on the premium content we are known for.”