Toon Boom Animation Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustrySoftware
Founded1994; 30 years ago (1994)
Headquarters
Montreal, Quebec
,
Canada
ProductsAnimation and Storyboarding software
Parent
Websitetoonboom.com

Toon Boom Animation Inc., also known as Toon Boom, is a Canadian software company founded in 1994 and based in Montreal, Quebec. It specializes in the development and production of animation and storyboarding software for film, television, the World Wide Web, video games, mobile devices, training and education.

Its software like Toon Boom Harmony is used in many countries. It was awarded the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards in 2005 and 2012.[1][2]

History

2001
2017
Former logos

In 1996, Toon Boom purchased the software development business of USAnimation Studio. Its animation production services were to be merged into CST Entertainment according to a premature press release from CST. That merge never took place, and USAnimation's studio changed its name to VirtualMagic Animation in 1996 and operated independently.[3] Toon Boom Animation continued the development of USAnimation software, which became Toon Boom Opus. It has since become Toon Boom Harmony.

Founding President and Chief Executive Officer Jacques Bilodeau left the company in May 2003, and the company's board of directors appointed Chief Operating Officer Joan Vogelesang to take his place.[4] In 2004, Corus Entertainment, owner of Canadian animation studio Nelvana, acquired a 50% stake in the company.[5]

In 2006, Toon Boom acquired French company Pegs'n Co,[6] developer of the 2D bitmap animation software Pegs. Since the acquisition, the software has not been updated and can no longer be purchased.

In 2009, Toon Boom acquired the British company Cambridge Animation Systems, developer of Animo.[7] Since the acquisition, the software has not been updated and can no longer be purchased.

In 2012, Corus acquired the remaining 50% stake of Toon Boom it did not already own, giving it full ownership.[5] Chief Executive Officer and President Joan Vogelesang stepped down in September 2014 after over 16 years at Toon Boom, and Paul Gardner was appointed as interim CEO.[8]

On March 9, 2016, Toon Boom acquired all the related IP for the TACTIC Studio product, an asset management, production tracking and review tool from Toronto-based Southpaw Technology and planned to re-launch the product as Toon Boom Producer.[9] On June 13, 2017, Toon Boom re-branded and launched Producer.[10]

On July 13, 2023, Corus announced that it would sell Toon Boom to International Media Company (IMC), a portfolio of private equity firm TPG Inc., for US$111 million (CA$147.5 million). Corus stated that the sale would be used to cover debt and "advance our strategic plan and priorities".[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mesger, Robin (September 11, 2005). "Creative Arts Primetime Emmys' winners" (PDF). Emmys. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 17, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  2. ^ "Olivia Munn hosts the 64th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards". Emmys. October 8, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "Information International Inc (Triple-I)". excelsior.asc.ohio-state.edu. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  4. ^ Ball, Ryan (May 13, 2003). "Toon Boom Technologies Names New President". Animation Magazine.
  5. ^ a b "Corus Entertainment signs deal to sell Toon Boom Animation subsidiary for $147.5-million in cash". The Globe and Mail. July 13, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  6. ^ (June 6, 2006). "Toon Boom Animation acquires Pegs’n Co’s" [Studio Daily]. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  7. ^ Annemarie Moody (January 8, 2009). "Toon Boom Acquires Cambridge Animation". Animation World Network. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  8. ^ Sarto, Dan (September 10, 2014). "Joan Vogelesang Steps Down as CEO of Toon Boom". Animation World Network. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  9. ^ "Toon Boom Animation Acquires TACTIC Studio from Southpaw Technology". Toon Boom. March 9, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  10. ^ "Toon Boom Answers Growing Demand for Animated Content". Toon Boom. June 13, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  11. ^ Vlessing, Etan (July 17, 2023). "Toon Boom Animation Sold to Private Equity Firm for $111M". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
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