The house of Geronimo Stilton, Atlantyca Entertainment, has acquired the majority share of children’s book producer Dreamfarm. Both are based in Milan. The deal establishes Atlantyca Dreamfarm as a new business entity within the company that will produce properties from Dreamfarm’s portfolio and potentially acquire additional projects.
The deal will allow Atlantyca to produce and develop more new properties, and it’s especially interested in creating 360-degree IPs that stem from a solid publishing base.
The deal pairs Atlantyca chairman Pietro Marietti, who also founded Italian publisher Edizioni Piemme, with Dreamfarm owner Marcella Drago. Author Pierdomenico Baccalario now serves as
publisher-in-chief at Atlantyca and is charged with developing concepts for children’s book series to be exploited by the company and international publishers through Atlantyca’s foreign rights sales department. Marietti, Baccalario, Drago and Atlantyca CEO Claudia Mazzucco have a long-established collaborative relationship that began when they worked together at Edizioni Piemme, where the Geronimo Stilton, Ulysses Moore and Milla & Sugar series were originally developed.
Book properties Dreamfarm brings to the new entity include Leila Blue and Klinkus Bark, both published by Mondadori; Mysteries down Voltaire Alley and Will Moogley’s Ghost Agency, published by Edizioni Piemme; and Agatha Mystery, published by Italian giant DeAgostini.