DHX pays C$57m for Nerd Corps

DHX Media will pay C$57 million (US$50.2 million) to buy Canadian compatriot Nerd Corps Entertainment.

The deal for the Slugterra and Storm Hawks (pictured) company and its subsidiaries is expected to close on December 24, DHX said in a statement.

This gives DHX an extra 200 half-hours of children’s programming for its library, plus Nerd Corps’ animation studio assets, gaming expertise, interactive apps and brand licensing opportunities.

DHX is growing quickly through acquisitions such as Teletubbies owner Ragdoll Worldwide; Family Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior in Canada; and Degrassi producer Epitome

Nerd Corps – which was founded in 2002 and counts Disney XD boys-action series Slugterra among its brands – is based in Vancouver. Its staff will increase DHX’s personnel level in the city from approximately 300 to 700.

Nerd Corps CEO and co-founder Asaph “Ace” Fipke will join DHX Content as chief content officer, kids and family, following the deal’s closure, reporting to to DHX president and COO Steven DeNure.

Nerd Corps president Ken Faier will also join DHX Content, as senior VP and general manager, kids and family.

“Nerd Corps has an outstanding reputation and track record for high-quality animation, and we believe this is a perfect fit for DHX Media – one that will add significant value and expertise. We look forward to having Ace, Ken the rest of the Nerds on our team,” said DeNure.

“We are very proud of the way we have developed brands and produced content at Nerd Corps having worked with some of the great children’s brands and companies in the industry,” added Fipke. “Combining our forces with DHX allows us to continue building compelling content for kids and families around the world.”

Besides Slugterra and Storm Hawks, Nerd Corps counts Endangered Species, Kate & Mim-Mim, League of Super Evil, and Rated A for Awesome among its original brands. It has also worked as a studio-for-hire on international kids TV shows.