Jun 6, 2019

Xilam Animation, the studio behind "I lost my body" to get the French CG Studio Cube Creative

Xilam Animation, the independent producer behind recent Cannes Critics' Week winner I Lost My Body, has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority interest in French cg studio Cube Creative.

Xilam is best known for its children's series like Oggy and the Cockroaches, Zig & Sharko, The Daltons, and Rolling with the Ronks! The studio recently announced its first cg series, a preschool spinoff of Oggy and the Cockroaches called Oggy Oggy, and the acquisition of Cube will give it access to a well-established studio that can help boost its cg output.

“This first acquisition proposal fits perfectly with our business plan and will strengthen our strategic lead thanks to Cube Creative's unique expertise in cgi animation,” Xilam's chairman and CEO Marc du Pontavice said in a statement. “The excellent reputation of the company's teams has been built on their creativity, their adaptability, and their complete mastery of the latest technologies. We are impatient to begin working alongside them to contribute to the production of our future global hits.”

Founded in 2002 and based in the Parisian suburb of Levallois-Perret, Cube Creative currently produces work across numerous foramts - shorts, clips, commercials, large-screen 3D films, series, and features. Its clients include famous brands such as Cartier, Lu, Total, Kelloggs and Skoll as well as amusement parks and major French tv channels. The company has developed proprietary productions such as Athleticus (broadcast on Arte), Kaeloo (on Canal+, Teletoon+. and C8), Tangranimo (in production for France television), and Pfffirates (in production for TF1).

The acquisition, which is expected to be settled in cash, will give Xilam 50.1% of the shares and voting rights in Cube Creative, while Cube's founding directors will retain 49.9% of the capital and will remain fully operational within the company. By joining forces with Xilam, Cube Creative, whose average annual revenue over the last three years has been around €5 million, expects to benefit from the “editorial reputation as well as the commercial strength of Xilam in France and abroad [and] also from its excellent access to digital platforms and from its expertise in digital marketing.”

Xilam and Cube Creative intend to finalize the acquisition before the end of 2019.

(Pictured at top: A still from an episode of Cube Creative's “Athleticus” series for Arte.)