WildBrain is expanding its in-house animation capabilities with the acquisition of Toronto-based pre-production studio House of Cool.

Expected to close in Q4 this year, the US$11.4-million deal will see WildBrain pay around US$3.9 million in cash and issue shares worth US$7.5 million. 

This acquisition more than doubles WildBrain’s pre-production team, which currently consists of approximately 80 employees based in Vancouver. Under the new ownership, House of Cool will keep its brand intact and continue to operate as usual in Toronto. 

House of Cool has worked on animated series such as Kid Cosmic (Netflix) and What If…? (Marvel Studios), as well as feature films including Despicable Me (Illumination).

Founders Wes Lui and Ricardo Curtis (pictured left and right, respectively) will join WildBrain Studios’ senior management team as joint GMs of House of Cool, reporting directly to WildBrain president Josh Scherba (pictured center).

The deal is “an investment in creative excellence,” said Scherba in a release. “Their expertise is highly complementary to our existing business, expanding and enhancing our pre-production capabilities, not only for WildBrain’s proprietary content, but also for third-party projects.”

In recent content news, WildBrain signed a first-look overall deal with Bonnie Arnold, as well as acquiring 2D-animated preschool series Brave Bunnies.