TeamTO President Guillaume Hellouin Explains Why His Company Has Agreed to a Riva Studios Buyout (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Jamie Lang French indie animation powerhouse TeamTO, which announced insolvency in September, has accepted an acquisition bid from Milan-based Riva Studios, which is subject to approval from the Tribunal Commerce de Paris.

A hearing was planned for today but has been postponed until Nov. 20. TeamTO is the production company behind the Children’s & Family Emmy-winning Netflix series “City of Ghosts” and other standout kids’ programming, including “PJ Masks” and “Elena of Avalor,” among others.

Riva and TeamTO have been collaborating on the adult animated series “Junichiro Jackson” for a year, and according to TeamTo President Guillaume Hellouin, “We started discussing a potential investment [by Riva] in the studio five months ago, but these conversations always take a long time, and as things sped up in recent weeks, the conversation changed.” Initially, TeamTo received offers from three other companies, but Hellouin says Riva’s, which came in at the last minute, was the best fit for his company and is now “the only remaining offer; the other three didn’t work out for various reasons.” The TeamTo president says that because discussions have been ongoing for months now, the terms are favorable, and he has been able to work closely with Balsamo to shape an acquisition offer that will allow for operations to continue under somewhat normal circumstances. “The idea is that, at a minimum, all of the productions in our current pipeline will be delivered to our clients and partners, and everything in development will be pushed forward as normal,” he explains.

The largest change to TeamTo post-acquisition will be moving out of its brand new, state-of-the-art studio, which the company opened in Paris in late 2022.