TORONTO – Media company Corus announced Thursday its Nelvana subsidiary has agreed to sell an animation business for $147.5 million to Integrated Media Company.
Integrated Media will acquire Montreal-based Toon Boom Animation, marking Corus’s exit from the animation software business at a time when the company is struggling with a rough advertising market and what it says are onerous regulatory burdens.
Corus said it expects to use the money to pay down debt.
“After an enterprise-wide review of our operating model and asset base, we have decided to exit the animation software business,” Colin Bohm, Corus’s executive vice president of content and corporate strategy, said in a press release. “This move will free up capital, increase Corus’ financial flexibility, and sharpen our focus as we advance our strategic plan and priorities.”
The transaction is expected to close later this year.
Founded in 1994, Toon Boom operates a software that provides a platform for 2D animators.
Corus purchased a 50 per cent interest in the company in 2004 and bought out the rest of the stake in 2012.
“Toon Boom has grown steadily since, with an expanding roster of global clients that includes many of the world’s leading animation studios, universities and colleges,” the release said. “This transaction will allow Toon Boom, an Emmy award-winning company, to further accelerate its impressive growth streak within IMC, a global company with expertise in the digital media landscape.”
