Moonbug Entertainment, the producer of the mega-popular Netflix kids series Cocomelon, has been sold to a company operated by entertainment moguls Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, and backed by Blackstone Group.
Moonbug’s founders, CEO René Rechtman and COO John Robson, and existing management team and shareholders, will retain equity stakes in the Mayer-Staggs-Blackstone-backed media company. No financial terms were announced.
However, various reports from Bloomberg, The Information and Wall Street Journal peg the sale price to be $3 billion.
Mayer and Staggs have had a busy partnership since leaving Disney, forming special purpose acquisition companies, and buying a range of media assets, including Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine production company.
Formed in 2018, Moonbug describes itself as a "digital first" producer of kids content, making it in 27 languages for over 100 platforms around the world. Moonbug is best known for Cocomelon, which consistently ranks as one of Netflix's most watched acquired shows.
Said Mayer and Staggs in a joint statement: “We have known René and his innovative team for years, including during our time together at Disney, and they have built a perfect example of the type of category-defining business we are looking to bring into our company. They know how to identify and support brands that are beloved by millions of families across the globe. We and our partners at Blackstone look forward to helping expand Moonbug’s portfolio of titles and further extend its franchises across digital platforms and key licensing and merchandising channels.”
