Vancouver-based Thunderbird Entertainment Group commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol “TBRD” at the open Friday morning (Nov. 2).
The animation, factual and scripted content company has gone public following a business combination arrangement that saw B.C.-based mineral exploration company Golden Secret Ventures consolidate its issued and outstanding common shares, change its name to “Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc.” and acquire 100 per cent of the issued and outstanding shares of Thunderbird in consideration for the issuance of 36,660,561 Post-Consolidation Shares and 1,054,000 Class A preferred shares convertible into 351,333 Post-Consolidation Shares.
Founded in 2003 by entertainment entrepreneur Tim Gamble, Thunderbird has grown both organically and through acquisitions to become a multi-platform media production, distribution and rights management company. It boasts a staff of over 600 between offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles, London and most recently, Ottawa.
Atomic Cartoons, Great Pacific Television, Thunderbird Productions and Thunderbird Releasing Limited are among the company’s divisions with recent projects including animated Netflix original series Beat Bugs, featuring reimagined songs from the Beatles’ catalogue sung by some of the biggest recording artists of today; Blade Runner 2049; Discovery Channel’s Highway Thru Hell series; and CBC sitcom Kim’s Convenience.
“Taking Thunderbird public allows the company to continue to build our reputation and accelerate our growth strategy of creating quality content that has both national and international reach,” said Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO and director, in a press release. “We are delighted the world will be able to invest in Thunderbird, our talent and our expanding content library.”
The company’s management team is led by Twiner McCarron, who also serves as CEO of Atomic Cartoons, and longtime television producer Mark Miller, president and a director of the company.
Thunderbird’s board of directors includes Lionsgate Entertainment founder Frank Giustra (who holds 15.63 per cent of Thunderbird’s issued and outstanding shares); Francesco Aquilini, owner of the Vancouver Canucks NHL franchise; Frank Holmes, CEO of US Global Investors; and Brian Paes-Braga, founder and former CEO of Lithium-X Energy. Ivan Fecan, Thunderbird’s Executive Chairman, is the former CEO and president of CTVglobemedia. Founder and Vice-Chair Tim Gamble, businessmen Azim Jamal and Paul Sparkes, Miller and Twiner McCarron round out the board.
Key to the company’s long-term growth strategy is the continued expansion of its library of owned content and commercialization of that intellectual property. Thunderbird’s content library now exceeds 600 hours, with 16 shows currently in production (including both owned IP and service projects) with total production budgets well in excess of $100 million.
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