Paris-based studio Superprod has acquired DreamWorks alum Doug Schwalbe’s kids content financing and distribution business, The Co-Production Company.

The company, which Schwalbe set up in 2021, will be rebranded as Superprod US, and the acquisition should broaden Superprod’s reach in North America and add more live-action and animated programming to its catalogue.

Joining Superprod US as a VP is Tatiana Krokar, who previously served as a development and production director at Cartoon Network, where she worked from 2010 to 2017. In the years since, she has written TV and film scripts for studios such as Toronto’s Incendo Productions and Montreal’s Reel One Entertainment. Krokar is based in LA and will report to Schwalbe and Superprod’s animation SVP Virginie Creance.

The Co-Production Company’s slate is to remain intact, and it currently includes live-action film Home Sweet Rome and animated series Iyanu: Child of Wonder, both of which are in the works for HBO Max.

“It’s so exciting to be part of a group with world class animation studios in France and Italy, who have experience working with Warner Brothers, Netflix and most major platforms, and who are skilled at co production and can offer significant savings in tax credits and meet European content requirements,” Schwalbe tells Kidscreen. “We think it’s a unique value proposition for the US market especially when price sensitivity has become an issue for commissions and acquisitions at all the major platforms.”

Schwalbe’s company joins a handful of other subsidiaries in Superprod’s portfolio, including Italian animation service studio Red Monk—which it bought last year—and music rights management company 440Hz.

Before starting up The Co-Production Company, Schwalbe was SVP of co-productions at DreamWorks Animation. He worked at DreamWorks for almost two decades, on the heels of executive roles at major companies such as HBO (SVP of sales and co-productions) and 20th Century Fox (VP of co-productions).