Riki Group сonsolidates 100% оf the shares of Aeroplane productions (the Fixies brand)

Riki Group announced acquisition of the controlling interest and consolidation of 100% of the shares of Aeroplane Productions (producers of The Fixies brand).

Mr. Ilya Popov, General Producer of Riki Group, will become the General Producer of the consolidated company. Mr. Georgiy Vasilyev, founder of Aeroplane Productions, will continue collaboration as a creative producer of major animation projects for Aeroplane.

This deal enables Riki Group to expand its portfolio of children’s media brands, already one of the largest in Russia. Moreover by consolidating its assets in Moscow, Riki Group will strengthen its presence at the national level as well as will enhance its status as an animation leader internationally.

This media assets consolidation deal marks another milestone in the growth strategy of the animation holding. Earlier Riki Group aquired the “Tina & Tony” brand assets through an equity share purchase in Digital Television Company (TV channels “Mult”, “Mama” and others), as well as the assets of the Riki Development Fund (more than 10 animation projects) with an equity share purchase from the Inter-State Development Corporation.

Mr. Ilya Popov, General Producer of Riki Group: “This deal means that we are consolidating the brand portfolios of the two leading national animation studios. Since 2011 Riki Group’s assistance helped to establish and monetize The Fixies brand. At the start of the project our company invested $ 3 million into production of the series and the brand. In a considerably short time the series has been a huge success both in Russia and internationally, making a significant contribution to the creative industry. It was made possible because of our strong team of professionals, who are still developing and implementing new and successful projects. We are very excited about joining our efforts in order to produce world-class animation products”.

Mr. Georgiy Vasilyev, founder of Aeroplane Productions: “By assignment of the controlling interest in Aeroplane Group I do hope that Production Center Riki will be able to further promote further my dear Fixies, which I have worked on for over a decade of my life. For my part I will be pleased to participate in new large-scale animation projects of Aeroplane Productions not as the company owner and chief executive but as a creative producer”.

Mr. Mark Zavadskiy, Head of Riki Group Steering Committee: “The consolidation of such a large scale of assets as those from Aeroplane Productions marks an important achievement in the transformation of the Riki Group animation holding business structure. In fact we have put together the expertise of two unique production and business teams – in St.Petersburg and Moscow – to solve the most challenging tasks facing the development of the animation industry in Russia”.

Additionally:

Riki Group is and has been one of the leaders of the Russian animation market for 16 years. Its diverse portfolio consists of a variety of properties that appeal to the interests of different age groups including such successful Russian animation brands as Kikoriki, PinCode, BabyRiki and Tina & Tony. The projects are broadcast in more than 90 countries around the world and have been translated into 50 languages and dialects. During its 16 years the company has produced more than 100 hours of animation.

Today the Riki Group has its own Production Center, Petersburg Animation Studio, one of the largest animation studios in Russia; a multi-brand licensing agency “Marmelad Media”; a design studio; the “Umnaya Masha” publishing house, specializing in learning games and children’s literature; the “New Media” Development Company for online games; 4Screens Studio for the production of children’s game content for YouTube, as well as other companies. This organizational structure provides the Riki Group with a complete set of facilities and resources to create, promote and exploit any animation brand throughout its lifecycle.

Aeroplane Productions is one of the leaders in the Russian animation industry. The production company was established in 2005 and the animation studio of the same name – in 2007. Aeroplane Productions’ projects combine vivid and entertaining creative solutions with practical educational objectives with The Fixies being its flagship project. The series about tiny human like creatures who keep our technological world running smoothly premiered in December of 2010. In addition to the continuing production of new episodes of the 156x6’ series, the Fixies also star in two feature films – The Fixies. Top Secret (2017) and Fixies vs. Crabots (2019), both box office success in Russia’s children’s movie market. The TV rights for the series have been sold to more than 80 countries around the world. The English language version of The Fixies are also part of a number of leading educational SVOD platforms including Discovery Education, Learn 360, ClickView, and Hopster. Today the Fixies’ Russian language YouTube channel has more than 6.5 billion views, and VOD platforms in China – 12 billion views. The English language YouTube channel, managed by Wildbrain, currently boasts more than 40+ million views/month.