Blue Ant Media has reached a deal to acquire Thunderbird Entertainment Group for $63 million.
The move follows Blue Ant’s reverse takeover of Boat Rocker Media and its subsequent listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“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 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.”
Jennifer Twiner McCarron, Thunderbird CEO and chair, said the move “brings Thunderbird into a larger, more diversified media group with stronger commissioning opportunities, global distribution, and greater emphasis on IP ownership and monetization. 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 percent of the revenue associated with Thunderbird’s current slate are approved and underway.”
Twiner McCarron added, “We are excited to further strengthen our trajectory within a larger organization, and look forward to uniting the talent and capabilities of both teams as we move confidently into this next chapter of growth.”
The Transaction is expected to close in Q1 of next year. In addition to cost synergies, the new merged entity will benefit from Thunderbird’s production capacity in unscripted, animation and kids and young adult and AI production workflows. Twiner McCarron will join Blue Ant to oversee a combined kids, young adult and animation business under Blue Ant Studios.
