DISNEY BUYS POPULAR CANADIAN WEBSITE
BURBANK – 08/07/07 – The Walt Disney Company has finalized its acquisition of Club Penguin, the popular Canadian children’s website.
The popular subscription-based website will continue to be operated out of Canada, according to Disney sources. More than 700,000 kids currently access the site at the rate of $6 a month or $58 a year.
Club Penguin attracted 4.7 million unique visitors in June, an increase of 159% over a year earlier.
Burbank-headquartered Disney reportedly paid $350 million for the website and also agreed to pay the founders, three fathers based in Kelowna, British Columbia, up to $350 million more by the end of 2009 if the site meets growth targets.
"Kids are starting to go to the Internet first, so it is important for us to operate in that space," said Disney chief executive Robert Iger.
Some analysts have been skeptical of Disney's ability to compete because a handful of smaller companies – Club Penguin being a primary example – have been able to figure out better ways to captivate children online.
But, Disney sees strong growth potential for Club Penguin, particularly in Europe and Asia."While it is not a global brand today, our intent is to make it one," Iger said, adding that the company is planning to integrate Club Penguin with its other businesses, including consumer products and theme parks.
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