ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE
3.7 - October 1998
Business
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Nelvana has purchased the publishing company responsible for Franklin. |
Nelvana Acquires Kids Can. Toronto,
Canada-based animation company Nelvana Limited has completed the acquisition
of 100% of the shares of Kids Can Press Ltd., a Canadian publisher of children's
books. One of Kids Can's properties is Franklin, the story of a turtle
which Nelvana has already turned into an animated series. The $6.1 million
(CAN) acquisition now gives Nelvana access to Kids Can's library of over 250
children's book titles. One of these, titled Elliot Moose, is currently
being developed for an animated television series. The deal is "a highly
attractive strategic and financial acquisition for Nelvana," said company
co-CEO Michael Hirsh, "and is an important step for us in building a
more integrated family entertainment company." Nelvana will operate Kids
Can as a wholly-owned subsidiary and will retain all existing employees of
the company, including Valerie Hussey who will remain president and CEO of
Kids Can, and has signed a multi-year employment contract with Nelvana.Nelvana
is traded on the Toronto and Montreal exchanges under the symbol "NTV."
Autodesk Making Discreet Purchase. In June, Avid Technologies bought
Softimage [AF 6/17/98], combining two powers of digital production and 3D
graphics. Not to be outdone, in a similar yet reversed situation, San Rafael,
California-based Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) has announced plans to acquire
Montreal, Canada-based Discreet Logic (Nasdaq: DSLGF). Autodesk is the parent
company of Kinetix, makers of 3D graphics and animation software such as 3D
StudioMAX and Character Studio. The merger had some foreshadowing, as Kinetix
and Discreet Logic announced a product integration partnership in March [AF
4/7/98]. Discreet Logic, makers of editing and broadcast production software
such as inferno* and flame*, will be integrated with Autodesk's Kinetix business
unit and become Discreet, a division of Autodesk. The combined entity will
be headquartered in Montreal with its 350 employees managed by Richard Szalwinski,
Discreet's co-founder and current president. The deal, worth approximately
$520 million, is subject to several conditions, including regulatory approvals
and approval of the shareholders of both companies. Closure is expected by
the end of 1998. Until this transaction is finalized, both companies shall
operate as separate entities.
Cardiff Closing Down. The Vital! International Animation Festival (formerly
known as Cardiff) is closing its doors due to financial losses incurred at
its latest edition in June 1998. This year's festival director Jane Williams
has left the organization, and the board of directors is now responsible for
managing a debt which sources said amounts to approximately (U.K.) £25,000.
A press release issued to sponsors and creditors said the decision to shut
down is "due to several market factors including the decision of the
Annecy festival to go annual and the timing of the Second World Summit of
Children's Television held earlier this year in the U.K. In addition, the
U.S. animation studios are no longer in a recruiting period and therefore,
also did not support the festival at the level of previous years, all of which
contributed to a lower level of industry support than forecast." Joan
Lofts, chair of the festival board of directors, said, "To have to close
the festival organization at a time when British animation is vibrant and
growing is particularly painful but without confirmed financial support at
this point there is no alternative." However, insiders expect that the
festival will be reincarnated in the future, or combined with existing events
in other locations such as London or Bradford. After all, the festival began
in London more than 30 years ago, and has only been held in Cardiff since
1992.
Read Heather Kenyon's review, "Cardiff:
A Difficult Year to Be Any Festival," in the August 1998 issue of
Animation World Magazine.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
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