Late 2014 and early 2015 have brought a wave of consolidation to the licensing business, on both the licensee and licensor sides of the equation. The entertainment portion of the business has been the nexus of most of this activity.
Some of the recent deals involving licensed manufacturers, all of which have been announced or officially launched since November, include collectibles marketer NECA acquiring vinyl toy designer Kidrobot; enhanced e-book specialist Cupcake Digital purchasing Little Bit Studio, an app developer, on the heels of its iStoryTime buy earlier in the year; and, in Europe, game and puzzle maker Ravensburger taking over toy marketer Brio.
Meanwhile, among licensors, DHX Media, which represents properties from Teletubbies to Twirlywoos, welcomed Nerd Corps Entertainment, which produces and licenses Slugterra, into its family. And Endemol, Shine, and CORE Media officially began life as a joint venture on January 1, with the newly combined entity overseeing all three partners’ properties, ranging from American Idol to MasterChef.
Each of these deals is unique in terms of circumstances and objectives, as well as in the level of integration of the acquired company into the new owner’s operations. But collectively they illustrate how licensors and licensees are seeking synergies, expansion opportunities, and/or other means of achieving a stronger competitive position. These companies continue to operate in an entertainment-licensing landscape that is improving in some ways, but remains challenging.
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