Disney To Buy First Ghanaian Company: Creo Concepts

Walt Disney Co. has expressed interest in acquiring Ghanaian animation and illustration company Creo Concepts and its associated animated African mascots and characters for a buyout price yet to be announced with negotiations rumored to be still ongoing.

The Walt Disney Empire is to buy the much loved Ghanaian Animation and Illustration Company, in their bid to expand their global reach into the African market. Disney hopes to turn Creo’s work into global content for its television channels, video games, theme parks, movies and more.

The rumored takeover is for a mixture of cash and stock, with Disney shares accounting for roughly 60% of the buyout price.
Many people have over the few years that Creo has been in existence, referred to the company as ‘Africa’s Disney’ and so it comes as no surprise that Disney has noticed the creativity and talent this company has and is making preparations to acquire it.

Creo Concepts is the creator famously known for the 7 Goddesses Illustrations that went viral in all of Ghana and even spotted as merchandise in America, Canada, Europe and other countries.

While Disney has traditionally been known for its wholesome family creations ranging from the Little Mermaid, to Lion King, Hannah Montana and Pocahontas to mention a few, it has also been known for its acquisitions like the purchase of Capital Cities/ABC (including ESPN) in 1996, Fox Family Network (now ABC Family) in 2001, Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009 and most recently Lucasfilm in 2012. This will be the first time the world’s largest media company and owners of the most respected and beloved media brands around the world has taken a move like this.

This becomes the largest corporate transaction in the creative industry in Ghana so far and marks a remarkable turnaround for Creo, originally a branding and advertising company, with a knack for producing viral content. Creo’s work, which includes the beloved Ghanaba, Hogan Toons and Short Animated Skits tend to go wildly viral all over the world and transcends gender, age, culture and geographical barriers.

A spokesperson from Creo described Disney’s intent as a dream come true for his company and his team. “We at Creo have always looked up to Disney for inspiration and courage to tell stories using animation and illustration as a platform and this goes to show without a doubt that when you love your work and give all you have, you get rewarded in extravagant ways. Disney is definitely IT for us, we couldn’t have possibly asked for more” he said.

Creo Concepts has a staff strength of just 11 animators and graphic designers. Disney, in contrast, has a turnover of more than $45.8bn and a payroll of more than 150,000 staff at businesses varying from its Hollywood film studios to ABC television, theme parks on three continents and a high-street chain of Disney merchandise stores.

Disney CEO, Bob Iger said they started noticing Creo when they first launched the Hogan Toons series and keenly followed them after. After the runaway success of the animated movie “Frozen” he also mentioned that they are particularly excited about Creo’s Ghanaba series having strong female characters. It shows that they have a lot of strength addressing the female demographic and Africa wont be any different with what Creo has already started.

He further on went to state that Disney plans on monetizing Creo’s brands across its entire ecosystem from TV to parks, movies, consumer products and video games.”

Acquiring great properties and plugging them into the Disney ecosystem is simply something that the entertainment giant excels at so we are certain that Africa is in for an awesome Adventure. Stay tuned for more as the story unfolds.