DGAP-News: m4e AG and Planeta Junior join forces in a

DGAP-News: m4e AG / Key word(s): Alliance m4e AG and Planeta Junior join forces in a strategic alliance 21.01.2016 / 09:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- m4e AG and Planeta Junior join forces in a strategic alliance German m4e AG and Spanish-Italian Planeta Junior S.L. sign a longterm co-production, distribution and consumer products partnership. Höhenkirchen/Munich, January 21st, 2016: The German brand management and media company m4e AG (ISIN: DE000A0MSEQ3) and Spanish-Italian Planeta Junior S.L. (a joint venture between DeAgostini, Italy and Grupo Planeta, Spain), two leading European kids and family entertainment companies, will form a longterm co-production, distribution as well as licensing & merchandising partnership. As part of this powerful strategic alliance, several rights from Planeta Junior's IPs and some of m4e's new developments will thus be jointly co-produced. Both parties will furthermore distribute each other's audio visual rights catalogue. Planeta Junior will be focusing mainly on France and Southern Europe while m4e will be covering Central & Northern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America, Africa and the Middle East. Eastern Europe will be handled jointly by both companies. With the aim of building a leading worldwide business, m4e and Planeta Junior are about to combine their several teams to a strong international network. The new venture will be able to offer a broad distribution and presence via own offices in eight European countries including Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Poland and Benelux. An expansion into other major territories is planned in the medium term. In order to continually strengthen their property portfolios, both partners will jointly acquire rights and make their services available to third party rights owners. For a common market appearance, Planeta Junior and m4e are currently developing a joint branding, which will be announced shortly. "This strategic collaboration represents a major step for the m4e group in terms of deep distribution, managing our rights and consumer products business in Europe as well as financing aspects for our production slate. We share the same vision and due to our strong teams the new venture offers a huge opportunity to better control our rights portfolio and revenue streams. Right from the beginning of the discussions we felt that Planeta Junior is the natural fit for such a partnership." says Hans Ulrich Stoef, CEO of the m4e group. "This alliance is a perfect match for both companies since m4e and Planeta Junior share the same concept of the entertainment business and we are naturally complementary in reaching the European marketplace through our local teams. This joint venture establishes the ideal framework for our creative teams to develop new and exciting properties", adds Ignacio Segura de Lassaletta, Planeta Junior General Manager. Höhenkirchen/Munich & Barcelona, January 21, 2016 m4e AG - Executive Board Planeta Junior - Management Board Links: www.m4e.de | www.planeta-junior.com About m4e AG: The m4e group, founded in 2003, is an international brand management and media company focussing on children's and family entertainment content. m4e AG is a leader in creation, production, distribution and marketing of animated and live action programming. Its library of more than 2,300 episodes features some of the most recognizable brands such as Lizzie McGuire, Mia and me(R), Tip the Mouse, Miffy, Rainbow Fish, Conni and Something Else. The m4e group includes Tex-ass Textilvertriebs GmbH, Telescreen B.V., m4e Television GmbH, the joint venture companies Hahn & m4e Productions GmbH and YEP! TV Betriebs GmbH & Co.KG, as well as m4e Licensing & Merchandising, a full service agency/division that represents international entertainment brands such as Tobot or Yo-kai Watch. Since July 2007, m4e AG is listed on the Entry Standard at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A0MSEQ3). m4e Group - key facts: - The full value-added chain from one source - Library of nearly 2,300 episodes of best children and family program - Award-winning shows in over 150 territories worldwide - New shows in development/production: Mia and me(R) (season 3, feature film), Wissper, Me, Mum & Mystery and many more About Planeta Junior: Planeta Junior, a company within the Grupo Planeta / De Agostini group, is one of Europe's leading companies providing entertainment for pre-school, children and family audiences. It focuses on producing and distributing animated series and the rights derived from these IP's. The company has offices in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Eastern Europe. Since February 2014, Planeta Junior has managed TV rights, licenses and promotions for DreamWorks Animation. Planeta Junior also continues to invest in its own production, this year featuring series like Mutant Busters, Bubble Bip, Oliver Rock, Heidi, Egyxos and Sendokai Champions among others. Contacts <pre> m4e AG m4e AG Planeta Junior Public Relations Investor Relations Public Relations Joe Hofer Susan Hoffmeister Laia Medina Altlaufstraße. 42 c/o CROSSALLIANCE Avenida Diagonal, 662-664, 85635 Höhenkirchen- communication GmbH 3C Siegertsbrunn Freihamer Straße. 2 08034 Barcelona Germany 82166 Gräfelfing Spain Germany T +49-8102-99453-55 T +49-89-89827227 T + 34 93 492 88 79 E hofer@m4e.de E ir@m4e.de E lmedina@deaplaneta.com Twitter http:// twitter.com/m4eAG Montse Bros at MCS for Planeta Junior T + 34 93 362 08 40 E mbros@1990mcs.com </pre> + + + --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.01.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: m4e AG Altlaufstr. 42 85635 Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn Germany Phone: 08102/99453-0 Fax: 08102/99453-99 E-mail: ir@m4e.de Internet: www.m4e.de ISIN: DE000A0MSEQ3 WKN: A0MSEQ Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart; Open Market (Entry Standard) in Frankfurt End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 431151 21.01.2016