Blue Ant Media To Buy ‘Kim’s Convenience’ Producer Thunderbird Entertainment For $63M
Blue Ant Media Corp is snapping up one of Canada‘s top production companies, Thunderbird Entertainment.
The deal is priced in total at C$89M ($63.2M), with Blue Ant paying in cash and shares for all common shares in Thunderbird, which makes the likes of Kim’s Convenience, Highway Thru Hell and Reginald the Vampire. This prices Thunderbird’s shares at C$1.77, a 28% premium on the share price at end of trading yesterday.
Blue Ant says the acquisition will result in cost synergies of C$7M.
The deal comes in a busy year for Blue Ant, coming just months after it completed a reverse takeover (RTO) of Boat Rocker Media and listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It also follows a multi-million dollar deal for documentary streamer MagellanTV in October.
“The acquisition of Thunderbird is anticipated to add scale and complementary capabilities that strengthen Blue Ant’s studio business and enhance our earnings and cash flow,” said Michael MacMillan, Blue Ant’s founder and CEO.
“Thunderbird’s world-class service work and proprietary content creation strengthens Blue Ant’s studio portfolio and fortifies our ability to develop, package, and monetize content across multiple platforms, while improving operating efficiency across our combined businesses. We are thrilled to carry on the momentum we started with the RTO this summer.”
Once the deal is done, Blue Ant and Thunderbird shareholders are expected to own approximately 79% and 21% of the resultant company, respectively, should the latter’s shareholders choose to retain their stakes over cashing out. Thunderbird’s board have voted to back the deal and are recommending shareholders do the same, with only Thunderbird CEO and Chair Jinnifer Twiner McCarron abstaining.
Upon completion of the deal, Twiner McCarron will join Blue Ant to oversee a combined kids, young adult and animation business within Blue Ant Studios, and one Thunderbird director will join the Blue Ant board. Blue Ant’s team will remain unchanged.
“This Transaction brings Thunderbird into a larger, more diversified media group with stronger commissioning opportunities, global distribution, and greater emphasis on IP ownership and monetization,” said Twiner McCarron. “It creates a powerful platform for future growth, while also delivering compelling value for shareholders
“We anticipate joining Blue Ant from a position of financial strength in fiscal 2026. As of today, productions representing approximately 76% of the revenue associated with Thunderbird’s current slate are approved and underway. Based on Thunderbird management’s current visibility, we expect full-year revenue growth in the mid- to high-single-digit range year-over-year. Thunderbird also anticipates a corresponding increase in Adjusted EBITDA, with margins in line with the prior year.”
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