Mediawan Kids & Family has acquired a majority stake in Wildseed Studios, a UK-based producer of kids and family content.

Wildseed’s portfolio of live-action and animated series includes Counterfeit Cat for Disney Channel and The Last Bus (pictured) for Netflix. The company was founded in 2013 by Jesse Cleverly, former BBC Children’s co-pro and acquisitions head, and Aardman alum Miles Bullough. Going forward, it will operate independently under the Mediawan Kids & Family umbrella.

This move creates growth opportunities for both companies: Mediawan expands its family-friendly content catalogue, and Wildseed accesses Mediawan’s scale and market reach. In a release, Mediawan Kids & Family president Julien Borde confirmed that Wildseed will continue to develop its own slate of projects, while also collaborating with other Mediawan companies on co-pros.

Mediawan has a strong established presence in Europe, built in part through M&A deals like its 2021 acquisition of Italy’s Palomar (The Name of the Rose). Buying Wildseed gives it an important foothold in the UK animation market as well.

Wildseed is now poised to benefit from another major Mediawan announcement this week—French investment firm Entourage Ventures has committed US$106 million to a fund that will be used to co-develop, co-produce and co-distribute Mediawan-backed series with international appeal. Investment and revenue will be split 50/50 between the two partners, who are committed to working together for four to six years.

With files from Sadhana Bharanidharan.