DATSIT Sphere, the French Canadian TV producer formed in 2017 through the merger of DATSIT Studios and Sphere Media, has now merged again—this time with Montreal-based Oasis Animation.

It is also merging with Canadian doc-focused prodco Quiet Motion, and both companies will continue to operate with their existing brand names under the DATSIT Studios umbrella.

Oasis, which handles 2D animation for projects including PBS Kids hit Arthur and Netflix original Kulipari, recently secured US$2.6 million in financial contributions that it said would allow it to hire 100 additional animators by the end of 2019. This will double the studio’s workforce and allow it to open a new 2D animation training campus. Since launching in 2003, Oasis has gone on to become one of Canada’s largest 2D-focused studios specializing in high-quality original content.

The deal with Oasis marks DATSIT Sphere’s first entry into animation. DATSIT Sphere president and CEO Bruno Dubé (pictured) told Playback Daily that the transaction, which he described as a “a mix of a merger and an acquisition,” allows the company to “complete diversification” and become a one-stop shop for all genres (animation, unscripted, documentary, fiction and feature film). He added that both transactions are part of DATSIT Sphere’s ongoing strategy to enter new markets and forge new broadcast relationships.

The merger comes during a period of significant expansion for DATSIT Sphere, which acquired film-focused prodco Go Films (the company behind Ricardo Trogi’s film trilogy, 1981, 1987 and 1991) in October. The company is also slated to release a pair of features before year’s end: Mélanie Charbonneau’s Les Fabuleuses and Guillaume de Fontenay’s Sympathie pour le diable.

From Playback