Blue Ant Media To Acquire Atomic Cartoons Parent Company, Thunderbird Entertainment

International streamer, production studio, and rights-management business, Blue Ant Media, is making a major play in the kids’, family, and animation space with its agreement to acquire Thunderbird Entertainment, the parent company of Atomic Cartoons, one of Canada’s largest animation studios.

Announced today, the all-cash-and-stock deal values Thunderbird at approximately $89 million and is expected to close in early 2026, following a shareholder vote and regulatory approval.

Thunderbird, headquartered in Vancouver with teams in L.A., is best known in animation for its prolific Atomic Cartoons division, which has produced series such as Molly of Denali, Mermicorno: Starfall, and Super Team Canada, alongside service work for major brands (Spider-Man, My Little Pony, Cocomelon).

Blue Ant says the acquisition significantly expands its studio operations, adding large-scale animation capacity, children’s and YA production pipelines, stronger distribution capabilities, and consumer-products infrastructure. The company highlighted Thunderbird’s longstanding partnerships with Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros., Marvel, and LEGO as key assets.

According to Blue Ant CEO Michael MacMillan:

The acquisition of Thunderbird is anticipated to add scale and complementary capabilities that strengthen Blue Ant’s studio business and enhance our earnings and cash flow. Thunderbird’s world-class service work and proprietary content creation strengthens Blue Ant’s studio portfolio and fortifies our ability to develop, package, and monetize content across multiple platforms, while improving operating efficiency across our combined businesses.

Thunderbird CEO and Chair Jennifer Twiner McCarron will join Blue Ant after the deal closes to oversee a combined kids, young adult, and animation division under Blue Ant Studios. She said the transaction positions Thunderbird’s teams to accelerate their creative and commercial reach:

This Transaction brings Thunderbird into a larger, more diversified media group with stronger commissioning opportunities, global distribution, and greater emphasis on IP ownership and monetization. It creates a powerful platform for future growth, while also delivering compelling value for shareholders. We anticipate joining Blue Ant from a position of financial strength in fiscal 2026.

Beyond scaling up, Blue Ant singled out Thunderbird’s investment in non-generative AI production tools as an appealing strategic advantage, saying the resulting combined company will be better positioned “to evolve with the next generation of media and engage consumers seamlessly across digital platforms.”