In a major M&A move for the global kids content industry, CAKE is gearing up to take over Jetpack Distribution.

The London-based companies are in “advanced negotiations” towards brokering an agreement, according to a release, and CAKE anticipates announcing more news in the coming weeks. 

Former Disney EMEA head of acquisitions Dominic Gardiner founded Jetpack a decade ago and has grown the company into a leading global distributor that reps more than 1,600 half hours of kids content, including popular series Clangers, Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed (pictured), Kitty is Not a Cat, Chuggington, Mighty Little Bheem and Talking Tom and Friends.

In 2022, it established a licensing and merchandising service and hired former Hasbro and ITV Studios exec Stephen Toye Green to run it. More recently, Jetpack brought in former WildBrain exec Rebecca Lugo as head of global sales after the departure of Sophie “Kido” Prigent, who joined Studio Hari in January 2023. Global distribution director Gillian Calvert Ridge and sales manager Toby Jones round out Jetpack’s current sales team.

CAKE was founded in 2002 and currently represents more than 1,600 half hours of animation and live-action content. In 2021, the company underwent a major restructure  to launch a new production division, with Ed Galton taking over as CEO from Tom van Waveren. The company has since produced series such as Mush-Mush & The Mushables with La Cabane and Thuristar; Angry Birds: Summer Madness for Netflix; and Space Chickens in Space with Anima Estudios for Disney EMEA. CAKE has offices in London, Toronto and Berlin.

“Since Jetpack launched, it has always been a competitor we have admired. Our combined operations will deliver an even better kids & family distribution solution for this market,” said Galton.

In other Jetpack news, acquisitions coordinator Matt Bowen has left the company, according to a message posted on his Linkedin account. He joined the company in 2021 after a 13-year run at ITV.