Boat Rocker buys Fremantle kids’ division

Danger Mouse

Boat Rocker Media in Canada has acquired FremantleMedia’s Kids & Family Entertainment division, home to children’s brands such as Danger Mouse.

The acquisition, financial details of which were not disclosed, will see FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment integrated into Boat Rocker’s distribution arm, Boat Rocker Rights.

The unit, which was launched by RTL Group-owned production and distribution giant FremantleMedia in 2010, is headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Hong Kong.

The division’s library of 1,600 half-hours of programming for children will be added to Boat Rocker Rights’ catalogue, which now totals over 6,000 half-hours and is overseen by president Jon Rutherford.

Current FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment productions include season two of Danger Mouse and season one of Bitz & Bob, both with the BBC in the UK.

C21 understands that many of the division’s staff, including executive VP, creative and production Bob Higgins, will be moving over to Boat Rocker, with Higgins remaining based in New York.

It is also producing live-action sketch comedy The Who Was? Show with Netflix and Penguin Young Readers, as well as animated comedy Tasty Tales of the Food Truckers with Shellhut Media.

Boat Rocker Media’s kids’ and family assets include the animation studio Jam Filled and the production company Radical Sheep, while it has also invested in companies including Industrial Brothers and Marco Polo Learning.

“Today marks a major step in our expansion on the international stage,” said John Young, CEO of Boat Rocker Media, and David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg, co-executive chairmen of Boat Rocker Media, in a joint statement.

“We have deep respect for the unique expertise and brands that the FremantleMedia Kids & Family team have created over the last eight years and are excited for future collaborations with such an impressive collection of global broadcast and ancillary partners.”

Barron International Group acted as financial advisor to FremantleMedia on the transaction.