Scholastic is boosting its leisure biz: The youngsters media and publishing firm introduced a $186 million deal to accumulate full financial curiosity in 9 Story Media Group, a number one kids’s content material producer and distributor.

By way of the funding, Scholastic will purchase 100% of the financial curiosity in and a minority of voting rights in 9 Story Media, the animation studio behind TV exhibits together with “Doc McStuffins” (pictured above), “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Octonauts,” “Wild Kratts” and “The Magic College Bus Rides Once more.”

The businesses mentioned the deal “solidifies” the greater than 20 years of collaboration between Scholastic Leisure and 9 Story. The funding has been authorised by each corporations’ boards of administrators and the shareholders of 9 Story. The deal is anticipated to shut in Scholastic’s fiscal 2025 first quarter, which begins on June 1, 2024, topic to customary closing circumstances.

“This extremely strategic mixture, including 9 Story’s industry-leading capabilities with Scholastic’s trusted model and confirmed skill to create iconic kids’s sequence and franchises, has super potential to construct deeper connections with younger folks via our tales, because the pages of our books come to life on screens and thru merchandising,” Peter Warwick, Scholastic’s president and CEO, mentioned in saying the pact.

9 Story’s divisions embrace award-winning studio Brown Bag Movies; 9 Story Distribution Worldwide, which represents greater than 5,000 half-hour episodes of animated and live-action programming for youths, together with “Clifford the Massive Crimson Canine” and “A Sort of Spark”; and 9 Story Manufacturers, the patron merchandise division, which builds international children’ manufacturers each on- and off-screen, together with “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Karma’s World” and “Tremendous Why.” 9 Story not too long ago introduced a take care of Crayola Studios to deal with manufacturing and distribution on new authentic initiatives, in addition to the acquisition of Portfolio Leisure’s library, manufacturing slate, and growth initiatives, which added greater than 550 half-hours of content material.

“We’ve been lucky to work with Scholastic for many years, going again to my very own begin with the family-favorite manufacturing, ‘The Magic College Bus,’” Vince Commisso, President and Chief Government Officer, 9 Story, mentioned in a press release. “The mix of our international studios, gross sales and distribution capabilities with Scholastic’s present media enterprise, iconic title and distinctive capabilities opens much more alternatives to ship compelling tales and construct impactful manufacturers for audiences worldwide. We’re keen to start bringing collectively our complementary abilities to boost Scholastic’s place as a high developer, producer and distributor of children and household content material.”

9 Story reported income of $104 million in its most up-to-date fiscal yr, ended Aug. 31, 2023. Scholastic expects the addition of 9 Story to contribute long-term earnings accretion, scale back the capital depth of manufacturing and “drive substantial enhancements in top-line progress and bottom-line outcomes via 9 Story’s present content material library, best-in-class manufacturing studios, and international distribution and licensing capabilities.” Scholastic mentioned it intends to initially fund the transaction from out there money available and its revolving credit score facility and “anticipates sustaining its common dividend and its licensed inventory repurchase program.”

9 Story Media operates services in Toronto, Dublin, New York and Bali, using roughly 850 artistic and company workers worldwide.