Entertainment firm buys remaining shares in its Korean unit

ZOO Digital today announced the acquisition of the remaining 49 per cent of ZOO Korea.

The Sheffield firm, which provides end-to-end cloud-based localisation and media services to the global entertainment industry, acquired 51% of ZOO Korea in March last year. Since then the Korean unit has expanded to deliver an in-territory servicing hub for top names in entertainment.

The venture has helped to address the growing global demand for Korean content and distribution of non-Korean titles in the country with premium and secure provision of dubbing, subtitling, quality control and media services. In recent months, two global streaming services have worked with ZOO Korea and further significant new opportunities are in the pipeline, Zoo Digital said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

It said increased volumes of work mean additional investment in people and infrastructure is needed to support demand and capture the growing in-territory market for ZOO Korea’s services.

ZOO Korea generated $1.2 million revenue and $0.1 million profit in 2022. ZOO’s board believes it helped generate $4.5m additional revenues across the group and will continue to generate significant revenue for the Group in future, both through its own operations and by assisting ZOO in the US and UK.

 Under the terms of the transaction, the Company will issue 550,000 ordinary shares in ZOO Digital Group plc to the exiting shareholders of ZOO Korea and make a one-off payment of $200,000 in consideration for their 49 per cent stake.

 Stuart Green, chief executive of ZOO Digital, said, “We have been thrilled by the success of ZOO Korea since its inception 12 months ago. Our teams have built a productive and efficient working relationship, revenues have exceeded initial expectations and customer acceptance has been very high. This additional investment will consolidate the full benefit of ZOO Korea’s future growth to the Group and support our long-term ambitions in the region.”

 Jonghyun Oh, managing director of ZOO Korea, added, “The popularity of Korean-language film and TV has transformed South Korea into one of the most exciting markets globally for content production. We continue to see major international investment in original Korean programming, underpinned by both new and returning series, which is driving demand for our localisation and media services.”  

 

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