Arnold Schwarzenegger Enters Into Agreement to Become Significant Investor in Genius Brands International
June 15 2020 - 8:30AM
Genius Brands International, Inc. (“Genius Brands” or the
“Company”) (Nasdaq: GNUS), a global brand management company that
creates and licenses multimedia entertainment content for children,
today announced that Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is starring in and
co-producing the new animated children’s series, Stan Lee's
Superhero Kindergarten, elected to receive warrants to purchase
shares of the Company’s common stock as an advance against his
profit participation in the show. Any further payouts will likely
be in the form of cash payments.
Created by Stan Lee as one of his final projects,
Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, which will premiere in 2021 on
Amazon Prime in the U.S., is co-produced by Genius Brands with
China’s Alibaba Group, Lee’s POW! Entertainment, and
Schwarzenegger’s Oak Productions. Schwarzenegger, who also serves
as executive producer, lends his voice as the lead character in the
series. Co-creator of Deadpool, Fabian Nicieza, who has sold over
100 million comic books worldwide, is scripting the series. Genius
Brands’ Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward, Paul Wachter, CEO of Main
Street Advisors, and President of POW! Entertainment, Gill
Champion, also serve as executive producers.
Mr. Schwarzenegger commented, “I am honored to help
realize Stan’s vision of creating a children’s cartoon series that
not only entertains with superhero adventures, but also imparts
valuable lessons about the importance of health, exercise,
nutrition, anti-bullying, and diversity. Andy Heyward is one of the
industry’s most respected producers of children’s programming and
working together we will be able to bring to life our shared
vision of ‘content with a purpose,’ which parents can enjoy
alongside their children while taking comfort in the moral and
educational focus.”
Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO, Genius Brands,
noted, “We are grateful to have Arnold, not only as a co-producer,
but also as a warrant holder, which is a tribute to his
belief in both the series and Genius Brands. Not only is Arnold a
legendary entertainer and a leading voice in promoting children’s
education and fitness, he is a uniquely accomplished investor who
brings the perspective of having been Governor of California, the
5th largest economy in the world. I can think of no better or
smarter partner.”
About Genius Brands
InternationalGenius Brands International, Inc. (Nasdaq:
GNUS) is a leading global kids media company developing, producing,
marketing, licensing, and broadcasting, branded children’s
entertainment properties and consumer products for media and
retail distribution. The Company’s award-winning ‘content with a
purpose’ portfolio includes the upcoming Stan Lee’s Superhero
Kindergarten, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; Rainbow
Rangers for Nick Jr.; Llama Llama, starring Jennifer
Garner, for Netflix; award-winning toddler
brand Baby Genius; adventure comedy STEM
series Thomas Edison's Secret Lab; entrepreneurship
series Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club;
and Stan Lee's Cosmic Crusaders, created with Stan Lee's
Pow! Entertainment. Through licensing agreements with leading
manufacturers, characters from Genius Brands’ IP, also appear on a
wide range of consumer products for the worldwide retail
marketplace. The Company’s new digital network, Kartoon
Channel!, is available in over 100 million U.S. television
households and over 200 million mobile devices via a broad range of
distribution platforms, including Comcast, Cox, DISH, Amazon
Prime, Sling TV, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire
and more. For additional information, please
visit www.gnusbrands.com.
Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements in
this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may,"
"might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan,"
"intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent,
belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements.
While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such
forward-looking statements, which are based on information
available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking
statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are
subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without
limitation, our ability to generate revenue or achieve
profitability; our ability to obtain additional financing on
acceptable terms, if at all; our ability to repay our outstanding
debt; the potential issuance of a significant number of shares to
our convertible note holders which will dilute our equity holders;
fluctuations in the results of our operations from period to
period; general economic and financial conditions; our ability to
anticipate changes in popular culture, media and movies, fashion
and technology; competitive pressure from other distributors of
content and within the retail market; our reliance on and
relationships with third-party production and animation studios;
our ability to market and advertise our products; our reliance on
third-parties to promote our products; our ability to keep pace
with technological advances; our ability to protect our
intellectual property and those other risk factors set forth in the
“Risk Factors” section of the Company’s most recent Annual Report
on Form 10-K and in the Company's subsequent filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Thus, actual
results could be materially different. The Company expressly
disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law.
CONTACTS:
GENIUS BRANDS INTERNATIONAL:
Michelle
Orsi
Three.Sixty Marketing &
Communications
michelle@360-comm.com
INVESTOR RELATIONS:IR@GNUSbrands.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6e0e5511-97e6-482b-b834-b45128c87abf
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