Emerald Media takes stake in animation company
Cosmos-Maya, a market leader in IP-led Indian kid’s animation content, will use new investment from a stake sale for strategic growth initiatives and creating global IPs to further increase its footprint across the world.
The fund will come from acquisition stake taken by Emerald Media, a Pan-Asian company backed by KKR to invest in the fast-growing media, entertainment, consumer tech and B2B industries across Asia for which KKR has committed up to US$300 million from its KKR Asian Fund II.
The acquisition was announced on 10 Jan 2018 in Mumbai.
Promoted by internationally acclaimed Indian filmmakers Ketan Mehta & Deepa Sahi, Cosmos-Maya pioneered the art and technology of animation and visual effects in India.
Over the last 5 years, the company has produced a record 1,000+ half-hour segments of animated content. Today, it has multiple ongoing productions with major television and digital platforms, including Viacom18, Disney Networks, Turner International, Sony Pictures Network, Discovery Networks, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and ALT Balaji.
Ketan Mehta, Founder and Managing Director, Cosmos-Maya said, “The vision for Cosmos-Maya has always been to become a cutting-edge media technology company creating quality Indian content for the global market. The company will benefit greatly with a partner like Emerald Media which has a strong understanding of the entertainment, broadcast and OTT space. Through the capital infused, the company intends to develop international projects while leveraging the media relationships of Emerald to expand its global footprint.”
Rajesh Kamat, Managing Director of Emerald Media, said, “Cosmos-Maya has created and owns the content for some of the most popular kids’ shows and hence has its finger on the pulse of a very captive and influential audience. With the company now focused on the development of content, that crosses geographies, it is poised for growth on a global stage — not to mention the added opportunity of brand expansion and merchandising for its properties. This investment is a great addition to Emerald Media’s growing portfolio as it aligns with our vision of creating an ecosystem that caters to audiences of all age groups.”
Paul Aiello, Managing Director of Emerald Media, added, “Cosmos-Maya has made great strides in the animation space in the past few years. Their original shows have been huge successes and have paved the way for original Indian content to compete on a global platform. This investment will help Cosmos-Maya achieve its exciting growth potential.”
Anish Mehta, the CEO of Cosmos-Maya said, “With its successful and sizeable IP bank, strong business associations, a passionate team and the constant quest for quality — combined with the capital, domain knowledge and management bandwidth that Emerald Media brings on board — Cosmos-Maya is now poised for a global 360-degree approach to grow and monetize its brands through content, media, marketing, distribution, licensing and retail to markets, for kids across the world.” fii-news.com
