Genius Brands International has entered into an agreement to acquire a 28.6 percent stake in Your Family Entertainment (YFE), to be followed by a mandatory tender offer of the outstanding shares of YFE.<\/p>\n
YFE has a streaming and broadcast footprint on satellite, cable, OTT and terrestrial networks. Subject to YFE shareholder approval, the brand will be renamed Genius Family Entertainment and will operate its children\u2019s networks under Kartoon Channel! Worldwide.<\/p>\n
Genius Brands has agreed to acquire 3,000,000 shares of YFE for \u20ac6 million, to be followed by a mandatory tender offer to acquire additional outstanding shares of YFE at \u20ac2 per share. Genius Brands plans to invest up to \u20ac7 million to further capitalize YFE and invest in growing the global digital and linear channel footprint, as well as launch key IP.<\/p>\n
YFE will maintain its independent listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and will be run by the current management board of CEO Dr. Stefan Pi\u00ebch and Bernd Wendeln. Pi\u00ebch, who also sits on the supervisory board of Porsche Automobil Holding and Siemens Austria, will join Genius Brands\u2019 board of directors in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Concurrently, Paul Robinson, former managing director of Disney Television International and senior VP of Disney Channel Worldwide, has been appointed managing director of Kartoon Channel! Worldwide and will oversee the international buildout and growth of Kartoon Channel! Robinson and his team will be based in London.<\/p>\n
Andy Heyward, chairman and CEO of Genius Brands, stated: \u201cWe believe the strategic transaction with Germany\u2019s YFE, added to the IP assets and earnings of Canada\u2019s WOW! Unlimited Media will present us with additional growth opportunities in furtherance of our goal of becoming the leading provider of quality and responsible children\u2019s entertainment in the world today and for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited to be working with Stefan and Bernd on the YFE side to drive and grow the business going forward. With Stefan’s award-winning commitment to family-friendly content and Bernd\u2019s experience and network in the European market (e.g., ProSiebenSat.1 Group, Tele M\u00fcnchen Group), we look forward to jointly delivering content with a purpose to children worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heyward added: \u201cI have known and worked with Paul Robinson at The Walt Disney Company and saw how he built out the Disney Channel business worldwide. I believe that he can guide Kartoon Channel! Worldwide\u2019s international expansion, as we build the global children\u2019s business of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pi\u00ebch said: \u201cWe are excited to participate in this transaction with Genius Brands and look forward to creating value for both our shareholders worldwide and for families who watch our award-winning shows. Whether through our classic European titles like Fix & Foxi<\/em> and Albert<\/em>, or our U.S.-produced titles like Fairly Odd Parents<\/em>, we deliver powerful content that kids love, which will be highly synergistic as we become part of Genius Brands and the growing global Kartoon Channel! banner. Moreover, with Genius Brands\u2019 development and production expertise, we can reboot YFE\u2019s massive IP and create new franchises.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe are fully committed to \u2018content with a purpose\u2019 and scaling positive, pro-environment, non-violent storytelling for children. By working together, we look forward to unlocking the full potential of our portfolio, distribution platforms and retail business worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Genius Brands International has entered into an agreement to acquire a 28.6 percent stake in Your Family Entertainment (YFE), to be followed by a mandatory tender offer of the outstanding shares of YFE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":22002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[1503,1133,1134],"class_list":["post-22001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-genius-brands-international","tag-yfe","tag-your-family-entertainment","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n