Fonds de solidarité FTQ and French-Belgian group Média-Participations to partner with Frima
A new chapter has opened in the history of Frima, Canada’s biggest independent videogame company, with the arrival of two new investors and partners, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and European entertainment powerhouse Média-Participations. The $7.5 million investment will equip the Quebec City studio to pursue its mission as a leader in the development and sale of entertainment products and brands.
Commenting on the news, Frima CEO Steve Couture noted that “this first round of financing in Frima’s history combines the force of a strategic partner with the power of a financial partner. It sets Frima apart from traditional videogame companies and reconfirms our total entertainment vision, which now extends to animation and connected toys.” With this new partnership, Frima intends to make faster progress toward its total entertainment objective through targeted acquisitions in Canada and abroad.
Known for its commitment to Quebec business, Fonds de solidarité FTQ manages assets of $10.5 billion and has been active in the media industry for years. “As a leader in the Quebec videogame and entertainment industry, Frima is noted for the quality of its products, its agreements with international partners, and the vision of its management team. With a strategic partner like Média-Participations, the Fund is supporting more than 300 quality jobs in one of the biggest production studios in the Quebec City region,” said Normand Chouinard, senior vice president for investment at Fonds de solidarité FTQ.
In approaching Média-Participations—the third biggest publishing group in France, with deep roots in TV, cinema, comics, children’s books, and derivative products—the Frima team has shown a real commitment to its future growth and success. “Frima is part of a new generation of businesses we admire for their drive and ambition. We are a press, publishing, and audiovisual production group, and some of our subsidiaries are over 100 years old. We want to be part of the strategic growth of this company, as a means to consolidate our position both on the North American market and in the digitization of our content,” commented Claude de Saint Vincent, CEO of Média-Participations and president of Dargaud.
Média-Participations includes names as prestigious as Dupuis, Dargaud, Le Lombard, Ellipsanime, and Mediatoon—companies that hold the licenses to such internationally known brands as Lucky Luke, Marsupilami, Garfield, Thorgal, and Syberia. With the group’s expertise and huge catalog of properties, it will be a boon to the heritage value of Frima as it develops content and family-oriented entertainment licenses.
Although major investors, the partners hold a minority stake in the company. The three founding shareholders have complete freedom to pursue the plan Frima set for itself when it was created—become a world caliber entertainment concern backed by incredible ability to innovate—creatively, technologically, and as a business.
The news of the partnership was warmly welcomed at City Hall. “Today’s announcement of a major investment by Fonds de solidarité FTQ and a strategic partnership with a European entertainment industry leader, Média-Participations, marks a new era for Frima,” stated Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume. “This new financing will drive the company’s continued growth while cementing Saint-Roch’s leadership role in the global multimedia industry.”
About Frima
Frima (www.frimastudio.com) has grown to be a leader in entertainment and innovation. Since its creation in 2003, the company has developed a complete portfolio of media products ranging from virtual worlds and mobile apps to console and social & web games. Its expertise also extends to special effects, animation, and visual design, as well as connected toys and objects. In addition to working in close cooperation with internationally renowned partners such as Disney, Lego, Mattel, Activision, Warner, and Ubisoft, Frima has developed successful products in its own right, including Chariot, Nun Attack, Zombie Tycoon, and A Space Shooter. With over 350 industry professionals on staff, Frima develops top quality products that stand out artistically, technologically, and from a business model perspective.
About Fonds de solidarité FTQ
With net assets of $10.5 billion as at November 30, 2014, Fonds de solidarité FTQ (www.fondsftq.com) is a development capital fund that calls on the savings of Quebecers to help drive economic growth in the province. It partners with over 2,450 businesses, either directly or through members of its network, and its investments in all spheres of activity serve to create and safeguard over 172,000 private sector jobs. Over 600,000 shareholders are invested in the fund.
About Média-Participations
With annual revenues of approximately half a billion dollars, Média-Participations (www.media-participations.com) is the third largest publishing company in France. Its success has been driven by management’s commitment to organic growth and content creation, combined with targeted acquisitions in complementary areas. This success is further fueled by the growth of existing brands, particularly in graphic novels, magazine publishing, and children’s books divisions; targeted acquisitions of other brands, franchises, publishing assets, and firms; and continued control of product distribution and delivery in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. Across the range of traditional and new media channels, Media-Participations is committed to continually promoting its talented authors, journalists, producers, and their creations.With Dargaud, Le Lombard, Kana, and Dupuis, Média-Participations is the undisputed leader of the European comic world. Through its companies in France and Belgium, Média-Participations is the leading producer of animated films in Europe and offers an incomparable catalog of quality shows and series. New technologies also represent an exceptional opportunity for future growth, with Média-Participations’ brands all investing heavily in adaptation of their content to digital platforms.
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Source
Hugo Normand, Communications Manager – Frima www.frimastudio.com
