DIC Entertainment to Acquire Golden Books

Posted on June 6, 2001

DIC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. will be purchasing substantially all of the assets of Golden Books Family Entertainment, Inc. The approximate value of the transaction is $170 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Golden Books will file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition and seek approval of the sale to DIC Entertainment under Section 363 of the bankruptcy code. Golden Books' operations will continue as usual during the court and sale process, which is expected to take approximately 60 days.

DIC Entertainment will integrate the Golden Books library of more than 500,000 titles, including a comic book collection, 3,000 movies, television series and specials and cartoons into its existing library of over 2,500 episodes of animated children's programs. Golden Books' brands include Lassie, Underdog, Pat the Bunny, the Poky Little Puppy and a variety of seasonal franchises, including Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Little Drummer Boy.

DIC Entertainment Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward said, ``We believe the business combination when implemented will further extend our library of valuable branded characters as well as provide additional opportunities to leverage the powerful Golden Books brand and enormous collection of wonderful characters, publications and programs that families have cherished for nearly 60 years.''

DIC Entertainment was purchased in November 2000 by Andy Heyward in partnership with Bain Capital, LLC. DIC Entertainment is a children's entertainment company focused on developing, producing, distributing, and merchandising children's animated programming worldwide. Since its founding in 1983, DIC has produced over 100 series and 3,000 episodes. DIC's catalog of children's animation includes brands such as Inspector Gadget, Madeline, Sailor Moon, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, Action Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Super Mario Bros.