Canada‘s Blue Ant Media will go public after completing a deal for listed compatriot Boat Rocker Media.
The agreement will see the Michael MacMillan-owned Blue Ant listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange through a reverse takeover of Boat Rocker, whose management is concurrently buying out its studios business.
Boat Rocker, which makes the likes of The Great Canadian Baking Show, is already listed on the TSX, and the agreement will see it acquiring all outstanding shares in Blue Ant in exchange for subordinate voting shares in the resulting business.
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Once the deal closes, the company will be renamed Blue Ant Media Corporation and, subject to regulatory approval, begin trading on the TSX, with Blue Ant shareholders owning about 73.5% of the company and Boat Rocker shareholders taking the rest. MacMillan, who founded Blue Ant, will be the CEO, with Brad Martin the chairman.
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The reverse takeover – in which a privately-owned company buys a listed one – allows the acquirer to list on the stock market without holding a traditional IPO. The deal, based on a share price of C$2.25 per Blue Ant share, is a 125% premium on Boat Rocker’s closing price on Friday.
Also part of the agreement, Blue Ant will inherit three Boat Rocker producers in Canada – Insight Productions, Jam Filled Entertainment, and Proper Television, which collectively delivered C$118M in revenue in 2024, based on unaudited results.
Boat Rocker’s other assets, including its Boat Rocker Studios business – comprising scripted, unscripted, kids and family production operations – are among other assets being divided though several transactions. Boat Rocker bosses Ivan Schneeberg, David Fortier and John Young have formed a new biz, IDJCo, to buy Boat Rocker Studios, and the brand management and franchise management operations. These will then be run by a new company operating under the Boat Rocker name.
The MBO team said the new look Boat Rocker Studios would be “well capitalized and operationally focused on content creation and IP management.” It will have offices in Toronto, London, LA, NYC and Hong Kong.
“We are excited about this opportunity to acquire Boat Rocker Studios and use the resulting enhanced strategic focus and flexibility to capitalize on the exciting content creation, investment and partnership opportunities we see in the global marketplace,” said Schneeberg, Fortier, and Young in a statement.
“We will be more agile than ever, allowing us to move faster and lean in closer to projects we believe in. We will be better positioned to invest in amazing content and better able to ensure that the projects we are part of achieve their fullest potential, both in terms of entertainment value and worldwide sales. We will continue to work tirelessly to be the best independent studio partner in the world.”
Blue Ant is headquartered in Toronto, and has offices Los Angeles, New York, Washington, London, Sydney, and Singapore. It generated C$196M in revenues in the fiscal year ending August 31, 2024, a 16% increase year-over-year, and made C$18M in net income.
The new-look Blue Ant will receive C$25.5M as a minimum cash balance and working capital, around $11.6M from The Initial Group’s ownership of Boat Rocker and several other financial guarantees.
Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Blue Ant shareholder, has agreed to support the offering through a C$20M backstop commitment, which would reduce the ownership stakes of Blue Ant and Boat Rocker shareholders if completed. It will also buy Boat Rocker’s minority interest in The Initial Group for around C$17M.
“This is an opportunistic moment for Blue Ant to go public, paving the way for long-term value creation,” said MacMillan. “We are confident that this transaction will unlock significant value for all shareholders. Through the combination of our public listing, a strengthened balance sheet, and significant net cash post-transaction, we believe that we are strategically positioned for profitable global growth, both organically and through M&A.”