Hasbro buys Irish studio Boulder

Hasbro has acquired Irish animation studio Boulder Media.

The US kids toy giant has moved heavily into TV via its Hasbro Studios arm, and this marks its latest play.

Dublin-based Boulder will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hasbro and work on its series as well as third-party projects.

“At Hasbro, we’re building our brands through storytelling, and today, we’re telling richer stories across more platforms than ever before,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s chairman, president and CEO.

He added: “We are also reinventing traditional modalities of animation production, both creatively and financially. With Boulder, we will deliver the highest quality animation that will engage our audiences with deep storytelling and great characters in a very cost-efficient manner.”

Hasbro brands include My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Transformers and Stretch Armstrong, which is the inspiration for a recently-announced Netflix animated series.

Boulder, meanwhile, makes shows for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, BBC and Disney, and counts Go Jetters and Danger Mouse (pictured) among its credits.

Stephen Davis, executive VP and chief content officer, Hasbro said: “As one of the largest independent studios producing animation in Hollywood, the time is right for Hasbro to acquire its own animation studio, allowing us to expand our animation and storytelling capabilities even further.”