KKR-backed Emerald Media acquires controlling stake in Cosmos-Maya

Emerald Media, the Pan-Asia company backed by leading global investment firm KKR, today announced that it has acquired a controlling stake in Cosmos-Maya through a combination of primary and secondary stake acquisition.

Based in India, Cosmos-Maya is the market leader in IP-led Indian kid's animation content. The capital from this investment will help the company with strategic growth initiatives and creating global IPs to further increase its footprint across the world.

Promoted by internationally acclaimed Indian filmmakers Ketan Mehta and Deepa Sahi, Cosmos-Maya pioneered the art and technology of animation and visual effects in India. Over the last 5 years, the company has produced a record 1000+ half-hour segments of animated content.

Today, it has multiple ongoing productions with major television and digital platforms, including Viacom18, Disney Networks, Turner International, Sony Pictures Network, Discovery Networks, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and ALT Balaji.

The creators of the Motu Patlu animation series, a popular Indian kids' show, Cosmos-Maya has an impressive lineup of 9 TV shows on air including Shiva, Eena Meena Deeka, Kisna, ViR - The Robot Boy, Guru Aur Bhole, Chacha Bhatija, Tik Tak Tail and Selfie with Bajrangi. The company is also working on 3 international co-productions - Captain Cactus, Atchoo! and Help me Ganesha - in different stages of production and development. Cosmos-Maya targets audiences globally through its own YouTube channel, WowKidz, which has already become one of the fastest-growing channels for kids' content with over 2 million active subscribers and over 2 billion cumulative views since its launch in 2016.

Ketan Mehta, Founder and Managing Director, Cosmos-Maya said, "The vision for Cosmos-Maya has always been to become a cutting-edge media technology company creating quality Indian content for the global market.

The company will benefit greatly with a partner like Emerald Media which has a strong understanding of the entertainment, broadcast and OTT space. Through the capital infused, the company intends to develop international projects while leveraging the media relationships of Emerald to expand its global footprint."

Rajesh Kamat, Managing Director of Emerald Media, said, "Cosmos-Maya has created and owns the content for some of the most popular kids' shows and hence has its finger on the pulse of a very captive and influential audience. With the company now focused on the development of content, that crosses geographies, it is poised for growth on a global stage - not to mention the added opportunity of brand expansion and merchandising for its properties. This investment is a great addition to Emerald Media's growing portfolio as it aligns with our vision of creating an ecosystem that caters to audiences of all age groups."

Paul Aiello, Managing Director of Emerald Media, added, "Cosmos-Maya has made great strides in the animation space in the past few years. Their original shows have been huge successes and have paved the way for original Indian content to compete on a global platform. This investment will help Cosmos-Maya achieve its exciting growth potential."

Anish Mehta, the CEO of Cosmos-Maya said, "With its successful and sizeable IP bank, strong business associations, a passionate team and the constant quest for quality - combined with the capital, domain knowledge and management bandwidth that Emerald Media brings on board - Cosmos-Maya is now poised for a global 360-degree approach to grow and monetize its brands through content, media, marketing, distribution, licensing and retail to markets, for kids across the world."

KPMG advised the company on the transaction.