Halifax fi rm hopes Nerd Corps purchase means more content
Owner of Vancouver company says no local jobs will be lost
Nerd Corps is one of the crown jewels of Vancouver’s burgeoning digital media industry, with 400 employees and a strong lineup of original cartoon series.
But it’s no longer a Vancouver company, or independent. Tuesday, DHX Media Ltd. of Halifax announced it had purchased Nerd Corps Entertainment Inc. for up to $ 57 million in cash and stock.
Under the deal, DHX Media will pay up to $ 32.7 million in cash and issue nearly three million shares to Nerd Corps owners Asaph ( Ace) Fipke, Ken Faier and Chuck Johnson. All three will remain with DHX.
Fipke said Nerd Corps was approached by DHX a couple of months ago.
“Right now there’s a lot of consolidation going on ( in the digital media industry),” he said.
“So there’s kicking at the tires. Quite honestly we weren’t looking to sell, but this just seemed like a perfect fit.”
Fipke said no local jobs would be lost in the sale.
“If anything the 400 ( local employees) are going to grow,” said Fipke, who will be DHX’s chief content officer for kids and family.
“We are combining forces with the 270 people at the Vancouver DHX studios, which are primarily 2- D animation. We’re all 3- D, so I think it’s a great complement.
“So ( there will be) lots more work. We’ll continue to do a nice mix of service work and our own DHX original content. Our intention is to keep the studios very, very busy.”
Nerd Corps produces original cartoon series such as Endangered Species, Kate & Mim- Mim, League of Super Evil, Rated A for Awesome, Slugterra, and Storm Hawks. It also produces Monster High and Max Steel for Mattel, and Blaze for Nick Jr.
The company began in a Coal Harbour apartment in 2002, and grew along with the local digital media industry.
“( Vancouver) is the birthplace of digital animation, and has always had and sustained a core group of talent,” said Fipke, a 44- year- old Vancouver Film School grad.
“That has allowed us to bring projects to the city, and to be able to execute on them at a world- class level.
“We also have concentrated very, very heavily on creating our own original properties. I think the combination of both servicing and partnering with outside people, and then creating our own ( shows), has made it so we ( were) able to sustain and grow an operation strategically over the last 13 years.”
DHX Media owns shows such as Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Teletubbies, In the Night Garden, Inspector Gadget, and Johnny Test.
The Halifax- based production company and distributor has been active in the past year, acquiring the Disney- affiliated Family channel in Canada from BCE Inc.
It also bought the Epitome group of companies, which produces the Degrassi TV franchise, and is resurrecting Teletubbies with 60 new episodes for BBC.
DHX Media chief executive Dana Landry said the acquisition of Nerd Corps will help DHX Media produce more original content for television, mobile and online media.
“The animation capacity that this gives us strengthens our position,” said Landry. “This is important in a time where content is extremely hot. All of our current studios are at capacity and we need the additional capacity and skill set.”
Landry said the addition of Nerd Corps also gives the company more licensing opportunities for items such as toys and paraphernalia based on the shows.
The deal adds more than 200 half- hour episodes to DHX’s library of children’s programming, which represents about a third of the value of the deal.
Last month, the company inked a deal to acquire a library of 151 television series, movies and television specials, including Emily of New Moon — based on books by Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery — and the international distribution rights to Degrassi.
It also recently signed a co- operation agreement with the media broadcast division of China’s state broadcaster, China National Television ( CNTV), to offer a new streaming service for children’s shows across multiple platforms in that country.