Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Changes at Chorion

If you work in children's media, you know Chorion. Unfortunately, Chorion is in a lot of trouble. Below are the Cliffs Notes so you're up to speed and in the know!

The Backstory
Chorion is a UK-based media company that owns many well-known properties including Paddington Bear, Peter Rabbit, The Mr. Men, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Olivia, and The Octonauts. In 2006, the company was purchased by 3i but has continued to carry a debt of approximately $113 million.

What Happened
On August 25th, it was announced that Chorion’s chairman Lord Waheed Alli and deputy chairman William Astor resigned from the company. As soon as this news hit, I started to scheme ways to buy Paddington Bear. If I considered this, you know executives were making phone calls! Kidscreen posted a great article that you can access here.

What It Means
The properties will be sold. More about that here. Some of Chorion's properties are on television and doing well. Olivia is featured on Nickelodeon while The Octonauts is successfully airing internationally. It seems like some big names are putting their hats in the ring, which could mean a whole new slew of series, books, and merchandise.

Stay tuned and stay informed! Share your updates here...

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