Spin Master Corp has launched a venture capital fund to make strategic minority investments in toys, entertainment and digital games opportunities. Spin Master, a Toronto-based children’s entertainment company, will initially allocate $100 million to Spin Master Ventures. The fund has already invested in Hoot Reading, a Canadian online tutoring service, and Nørdlight, a Swedish mobile game developer.
PRESS RELEASE
TORONTO, Oct. 19, 2021 /CNW/ – Spin Master Corp. (“Spin Master” or “the Company”) announced today the creation of Spin Master Ventures (“SMV”). SMV’s focus is to accelerate growth in each of the Company’s three creative centres comprising Toys, Entertainment and Digital Games, through strategic minority investments. SMV’s investment mandate will be centred on medium and long-term trends including emerging technologies, pioneering services and other areas where Spin Master’s offering can be strengthened.
“We’ve always stayed true to our entrepreneurial DNA based on innovation, openness to ideas, partnerships and pushing boundaries,” said Ronnen Harary, Spin Master’s Co-Founder and Board Chair. “The pace of innovation within the toys, entertainment and digital games industries is accelerating rapidly and by investing with a long-term view in leading ventures with promising ideas, we can increase our access to potentially game-changing thinking and concepts. Spin Master Ventures will establish us as the partner of choice for entrepreneurs looking for capital to start and grow a business in the kids’ space and will complement our acquisition strategy as well as bolster our product development pipeline.”
SMV will be led by experienced industry veterans, with a deep focus by creative centre. Spin Master will initially allocate $100 million to SMV, funded from existing internal resources. SMV’s strategy will comprise minority investments and will include both early-stage companies, with investments in new teams and novel ideas, as well as providing growth capital to emerging business that have proven product and market fit. SMV’s geographic focus will be global but will be North American and Europe-centric initially.
To launch the initiative, SMV has made minority investments in two companies aligned with Spin Master’s growth plans within the Digital Games creative centre. Nørdlight, a mobile game development company based in Stockholm is comprised of a five-person team with over 50 years of experience in the mobile games industry. Nørdlight’s team have delivered some of the largest grossing mobile digital games in history including running the prototype team at King.com and leading the technology and art for digital games titles including Candy Crush Saga. Nørdlight will help accelerate Spin Master’s strategy of monetizing its owned IP in the digital games space.
The second investment is in Hoot Reading, an online tutoring service that provides children with live, 1:1 reading lessons with experienced teachers. The research-based service connects kids with real classroom teachers to advance their reading skills through a video chat platform that allows for real-time on-screen collaboration between the child and teacher. The company is headquartered in Canada and has teachers and students throughout North America. Using personalized and engaging lessons and a carefully curated library of more than 2,000 high-quality levelled texts, Hoot Reading aims to help as many kids as possible to become not only proficient, but excellent readers.
“Establishing Spin Master Ventures enables Spin Master to work with extraordinary companies and teams, providing them with capital and access to our deep knowledge and expertise to drive their ideas and businesses forward,” added Anton Rabie, Spin Master’s Co-Founder and Director. “Spin Master Ventures aims to become the ultimate partnership generator, a tool for widening the Company’s networks, knowledge and relationships. By partnering with these entrepreneurs, we can bolster our leadership position within the children’s entertainment industry.”
About Spin Master
Spin Master Corp. (TSX:TOY) is a leading global children’s entertainment company creating exceptional play experiences through a diverse portfolio of innovative toys, entertainment franchises and digital games. Spin Master is best known for award-winning brands PAW Patrol®, Bakugan®, Kinetic Sand®, Air Hogs®, Hatchimals®, Rubik’s Cube® and GUND®, and is the toy licensee for other popular properties. Spin Master Entertainment creates and produces compelling multiplatform content, stories and endearing characters through its in-house studio and partnerships with outside creators, including the preschool success PAW Patrol and nine other original shows along with multiple short-form series, which are distributed in more than 190 countries. The Company has an established digital games presence anchored by the Toca Boca® and Sago Mini® brands. With close to 2,000 employees in 28 offices globally, Spin Master distributes products in more than 100 countries. For more information visit spinmaster.com or follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @spinmaster.
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