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Saban Brands Acquires “Digimon” Brand, Including New “Digimon Fusion” Season

Digimon

via Saban Brands press release:

Saban Brands Acquires Digimon Brand;
Will Debut New Digimon Fusion Season at MIPCOM

MarVista Entertainment to Manage International
Distribution Beyond Asia

LOS ANGELES, CA (Sept. 25, 2012) – Saban Brands has acquired the Digimon
franchise, adding the long-running Japanese anime property to its growing portfolio of
entertainment assets. The acquisition, which encompasses rights to the property
outside of Asia, continues Saban Brands’ dramatic growth since reacquiring the Power
Rangers property and purchasing lifestyle brand Paul Frank in 2010, amongst others.
Saban Brands will work with MarVista Entertainment for distribution of the series
outside of Asia. Japanese animation studio, Toei Animation Co., Ltd. will handle
licensing and distribution of the property in Asia.

The Digimon franchise, which was first brought to the U.S. in 1999 by Saban’s Fox
Family Worldwide, explores a digital world where powerful creatures known as
Digimon, or digital monsters, battle for supremacy. With the help of their young
human partners, the Digimon defend their world and ours from various evil forces.

“We’re thrilled to reconnect Saban Brands with Digimon, an entertainment franchise
that embodies the strong fan base and growth potential we look for in new additions
to our portfolio,” said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands. “We look forward to
reintroducing the brand in new and exciting ways that will allow more fans to engage
with Digimon.”

Saban Brands will debut the newest season, Digimon Fusion, at MIPCOM, which will be
held Oct. 8-11 in Cannes, France. MarVista Entertainment has been appointed to
handle international distribution (outside of Asia) of the new season, as well as
distribution for more than 250 half-hours episodes of Digimon content from the
library.

“We are naturally excited to further extend our relationship with Saban Brands to
represent the Digimon franchise and to present the latest iteration, Digimon Fusion, to
international buyers at MIPCOM,” commented Fernando Szew, Founding Partner and
Chief Executive Officer of MarVista Entertainment. “Children worldwide have embraced
the Digimon television series since its launch, providing strong ratings success for
broadcasters around the globe, and we anticipate a lot of enthusiasm from current and
new partners who will undoubtedly want to play a key role in the continued growth of
the Digimon franchise.”

About Saban Brands
Formed in 2010 as an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, Saban Brands (SB) was
established to acquire and develop a world-class portfolio of properties and capitalize
on the company’s experience, track record and capabilities in growing and monetizing
consumer brands through content, media and marketing. SB applies a strategic
transmedia management approach to enhancing and extending its brands in markets
worldwide and to consumers of all ages. The company provides full-service
management, marketing, promotion and strategic business development for its
intellectual properties including comprehensive strategies unique to each brand,
trademark and copyright management and enforcement, creative design, retail
development, direct-to-consumer initiatives and specialized property extensions. SB
is led by a superior management team with decades of experience in media, content
creation, branding, licensing, marketing and finance. For more information, visit
www.sabanbrands.com.

About MarVista Entertainment
Founded in September 2003, MarVista Entertainment is a leading Los Angeles-based
producer and worldwide distributor of films and television programming with a content
library now featuring more than 2,000 hours of programming. The company has grown
to become a pre-eminent supplier of programming to major cable networks in the
U.S., including Disney Channel, Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, NBC Universal, and MTV
Networks, as well as key international broadcasters, generating extensive global
terrestrial and pay television viewership. In the children’s media arena, MarVista serves
as the exclusive international distributor for Saban Brands’ top rated action adventure
franchise, Power Rangers, including the new seasons of Power Rangers Megaforce and
Power Rangers Super Samurai, plus the classic library with over 700 episodes.
Additionally, MarVista was recently named the international distributor for Saban
Brands new animated preschool series, Julius Jr. In 2010, MarVista formed a
partnership with Argentina’s SNAP TV for original productions and distribution in the
Latin America region. In 2011, the Company secured new investment capital from a
private investment group led by Brian Sheth. www.marvista.net

About Toei Animation Co., Ltd.
With headquarters in Tokyo and sales offices in Paris, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and
Shanghai, Toei Animation (Jasdaq: 4816) ranks amongst the world’s most prolific
animation production studios. Toei Animation’s operations include animation
development and production, and worldwide marketing and program licensing. Since
the company’s founding in 1956, Toei Animation has produced more than 10,000
episodes of TV series (more than 200 titles) and more than 200 long feature films.