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Cosmos-Maya acquires rights to ‘The Smurfs’, ‘Boonie Bears’, ‘Little Baby Bum’
MUMBAI: Cosmos-Maya has acquired the Hindi language rights to the widely popular series The Smurfs. The series had premiered on its YouTube channel WowKidz on 19 December 2018.
The company has also acquired the English language rights of the successful Chinese franchise Boonie Bears and the same will be aired on WowKidz for the holiday season. For the pre-school category, WowKidz will begin airing content from the massively popular YouTube channel Little Baby Bum.
Bablu Dablu, the Hindi version of the show, has garnered around 400 million views on the channel.
Commenting on the acquisition, Cosmos-Maya CEO Anish Mehta said, “It has been our endeavour to provide the best in class entertainment for kids across the globe. Now with iconic global brands from The Smurfs to really popular digital IPs like Little Baby Bum to one of China’s biggest IPs, Boonie Bears, WowKidz has a diversified mix of great content and kids will not have to look for any other destination when it comes to entertainment this festive season.”
WowKidz currently provides a wide range of domestic and international shows in 8 languages to its subscriber base of more than 13 million. The channel offers an eclectic mix of shows across 20 diverse sub-brands like WowKidz Action, WowKidz Comedy, WowKidz Rhymes, and more. Apart from its brimming domestic catalogue, it also features foreign shows like Simba, a spin-off of Lion King, Jungle Book, Hotwheels, Jackie Chan, and Lilly The Witch among others.
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Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square makes $64 billion bid to acquire Universal Music Group
Ackman pitches NYSE relisting plan as UMG board weighs unsolicited offer
The hedge fund has proposed a business combination that values UMG at €30.40 per share, representing a hefty 78 per cent premium to its current trading price. The offer includes €9.4 billion in cash alongside stock in a newly formed entity, with shareholders set to receive €5.05 per share in cash and 0.77 shares in the new company for each UMG share they hold.
Under the proposal, UMG would merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd and re-emerge as a Nevada-based entity listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The move is designed to boost investor visibility and potentially secure inclusion in major indices such as the S&P 500.
Pershing Square Capital Management ceo Bill Ackman argued that while UMG’s operational performance remains strong, its market valuation has lagged due to external factors. “UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business,” Ackman said, pointing to concerns ranging from shareholder overhang to delayed US listing plans.
Ackman also flagged what he sees as untapped potential in UMG’s balance sheet and a lack of clear capital allocation strategy. He added that the market has not fully recognised the value of UMG’s €2.7 billion stake in Spotify, alongside gaps in investor communication.
The proposed transaction would also result in the cancellation of around 17 per cent of UMG’s outstanding shares, while maintaining its investment-grade balance sheet. Pershing Square has said it will fully backstop the equity financing, with debt commitments secured at signing. The deal is targeted for completion by the end of the year.
UMG, however, has struck a measured tone. The company confirmed that its board has received the non-binding proposal and will review it with advisers. It reiterated confidence in its current strategy and leadership under Lucian Grainge, signalling no immediate shift in stance.
The proposal comes at a time when global music companies are navigating evolving investor expectations, streaming economics and capital allocation pressures. For Pershing Square, the bet is clear: sharpen the financial story, relist in the US, and let the music play louder in the markets.
Whether UMG’s board is ready to change the tune remains to be seen, but the spotlight on its valuation just got a lot brighter.
