DHX/Ragdoll deal Is emblematic of IP deal-making

DHX Media has acquired Ragdoll Worldwide from BBC Worldwide and Ragdoll Ltd. Ragdoll Ltd. founder Anne Wood is the creator, along with Andrew Davenport, of Teletubbies; also included in the £17.4 million deal is Davenport’s In the Night Garden, which was produced by Wood, and 10 other series. Wood and her son Christopher will continue to run their own company, Ragdoll Productions.

The DHX/Ragdoll deal is just the latest in a series of IP-based mergers and acquisitions across the licensing community. Examples have included other mergers of licensors, e.g., Disney and LucasArts ($4.05B), as well as acquisitions of licensors and their intellectual property by investment companies (e.g., Authentic Brands’ purchase of Judith Leiber, Adrienne Vittadini and other fashion labels earlier this year).

With a less prominent profile, but also increasingly common, are mergers and acquisitions involving licensees, which are occurring across several categories. Click here for Karen Raugust’s TLL blog RaugustOnLicensing for eight examples encompassing ConAgra, Lids Sports Group, Concept One, and others.

To learn more about mergers and acquisitions in the licensing business, register for EPM’s September 25 webinar, “IP Valuation for Licensed Property Acquisitions.”