Moonbug Entertainment has become one of the biggest players in children’s music and YouTube videos, having rolled up brands including CoComelon, Little Baby Bum and Blippi.
Newly-published financial results reveal that its business grew strongly in 2021, with revenues growing 148% to £110.2m (which would have been around $149.2m at the end of that year). Moonbug’s gross profit grew even faster, by 159% to £81.4m.
However, the company actually recorded a net loss for 2021 of £78.1m, which is explained by one-off exceptional costs of £93.2m related to its acquisition by Candle Media in November 2021.
Who’s that? A company co-founded by Kevin Mayer, formerly of Disney and a short stint as TikTok CEO, and backed by investment firm Blackstone Group. It paid $3bn for Moonbug in 2021.
Moonbug has a mixed history with the music industry, striking a deal with Universal Music Group in August 2021, but arousing the wrath of bodies representing songwriters in March 2022 over its approach to performing rights royalties.
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