Spain’s Squirrel Media to buy European animation firm Mondo TV Studios

Bat Pat

Spain’s Squirrel Media has struck a deal to buy European animation firm Mondo TV Studios.

The deal will see Squirrel Media take a 74% stake in producer-distributor Mondo TV, which operates in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Latin America and the Spanish-speaking markets of the US.

Financial details have not been revealed but Mondo TV will effectively become the new animation division for Squirrel Media.

It will retain its brand identity and “entire organisational structure”, the companies said, with the Mondo TV management team continuing to be led by CEO Maria Bonaria Fois along with the operational team.

Mondo TV’s slate ranges from coproductions such as The Drakers and Dinofroz, to Bat Pat 2, the comedy adventure 2D series produced for Rai Ragazzi in Italy and RTVE in Spain.

Squirrel Media, meanwhile, has been on the acquisition trail recently. In December, it acquired a 51% stake in Spain’s Grupo Ganga, which is behind long-running drama Cuéntame Cómo Pasó and RTVE’s scritped series HIT. The firm is also producing La Última, one of the first Disney+ Spanish originals, and also owns a 6,000 square meter studio.

Other Squirrel Media acquisitions include production company La Nueva TV and distribution company Comercial TV, while the firm also owns a 75% stake of NET TV, a company that has a DTT licence in Spain.

Pablo Pereiro Lage, president of Squirrel Media, said Mondo TV’s animation expertise would prove to be “deeply valuable” for his company. “In addition, it will consolidate our leadership in the creation and distribution of content in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian,” he added.

Fois added: “The integration of Mondo TV Studios into a group with exponential growth projections such as Squirrel Media is an undoubted high point for our strategic growth plans.

“We will continue to work hard on our traditional business lines, exploring synergies with the other Squirrel Media companies, as well as offering our much-admired international animation services and continuing to develop IPs that add value.”

Squirrel Media works across the media landscape and owns content firms including Vértice Cine, BF Distribution, Comercial TV, Tactic Audiovisual and DMD Media. It is also home to Nautical Channel, Horse TV and CanalDeporte, as well as TMT firms such as M3 Satcom and Itesa.