BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., May 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) 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, announced last week that it has completed a securities purchase agreement to raise $2.8M through the issuance of Common Stock and another securities purchase agreement signed yesterday to raise $5.4M through the issuance of Common Stock.

Genius Brands intends to use the proceeds to fund additional episodes of its hit series, Rainbow Rangers, to debut on Nick Jr. in conjunction with the August 2020 launch of the toy line from Mattel, Inc. at Walmart stores. The Company will also apply the financing to fuel the growth of its newly-announced digital network for children and families, Kartoon Channel! which will launch in June 2020 with availability in over 100M U.S. television households, and 200 million mobile devices.  Genius Brands has announced the series, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and will debut on Amazon Prime in 2021.  The Company has partnered with China’s Alibaba Group on the series and will use a portion of the proceeds to produce Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, as well as to pay down debt and to provide working capital.

Chairman & CEO of Genius Brands, Andy Heyward, commented, “I am pleased to report that Genius Brands is in a stronger position today than ever before in its history.  With last week’s announcement of Kartoon Channel!, launching on June 15 and available in over 100 million U.S. TV households and 200 million mobile devices, we have put an important stake in the ground to be one of the preeminent ad-supported kid’s digital networks.  In the Covid and post-Covid environment where there are more kids at home and in front of their devices, we will be well-positioned to take advantage of that growth. We have contracted over 4,000 animated episodes of quality children’s content, much of which provide valuable lessons in these times where parents are increasingly concerned about healthy messages coming forth for kids. Kartoon Channel! will complement the launch of Rainbow Rangers’ toys from Mattel at Walmart in August.  We are also forging ahead with Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, which has two sterling launch platforms with Amazon Prime in the US and Alibaba’s Youku Kids in China; both are global leaders in entertainment and consumer products.   While live-action production worldwide, has come to a halt, and put on hiatus, animated content has become a reliable source of fresh entertainment for increasing viewer appetites. We see robust and accelerated revenue growth coming forth in this arena.”

The Special Equities Group, a division of Bradley Woods, served as the sole placement agent on the transaction. Additional details on the transaction are available in the Company’s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is available on the Company’s website and at www.sec.gov. 

About Genius Brands International

Genius Brands International, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNUS) is a leading global kids media company developing, producing, marketing and licensing branded children’s entertainment properties and consumer products for media and retail distribution. The Company’s award-winning ‘content with a purpose’ portfolio includes 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 partners, characters from Genius Brands’ IP also appear on a wide range of consumer products for the worldwide retail marketplace. The Company’s Genius Brands Network of channels, including Kid Genius Cartoon Channel, Baby Genius TV, and Kid Genius Cartoons Plus!, are available in over 100 million U.S. television households via a multitude of distribution platforms, including Comcast, Cox, DISH, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and more.