San Diego, CA – Capstone Partners LLC, a leading national investment banking firm, announced today that it advised Zui.com on its sale to Saban Brands LLC. The acquisition of Zui, which provides access to the largest collection of curated, kid-friendly online content, strengthens Saban Brands’ position as a leading digital innovator for kids’ entertainment, and continues to grow the company’s digital capabilities. The addition of Zui will add 12 employees to the organization as well as a new physical presence in San Diego, where Zui is headquartered.
“We are looking forward to working with the talented team at Zui,” said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands. “This is a very exciting acquisition that allows us to further develop our online offering and deepens our position as a premier provider of kids’ entertainment across all media.”
Zui’s flagship site, Zui.com, allows children to access a large library of videos and online games. Zui.com also features a safe, social media experience for kids where they can develop a personal profile page with their own avatar, “like,” “vote” and “favorite” content, access games and add friends with no open messaging. Zui also operates KidZui, a downloadable browser providing access to a kid-safe Internet experience and more than six million websites, online videos, pictures and games.
Content available through both Zui and KidZui is reviewed and approved by an advisory board of parents and teachers, and added to the company’s proprietary white list. The Zui editorial staff also reviews and adds access to new content each month to keep it fresh and engaging for kids. Zui.com and KidZui offer highly engaging online experiences for kids – combined they have generated as many as 2.3 million visitors per month, with the average visitor coming back three times per week and spending nearly 30 minutes per session.
“Zui not only adds capabilities to the Saban Brands portfolio, but also provides unbelievable talent and capabilities in the areas of engineering, product development and digital entertainment,” said Cliff Boro, Co-Founder and CEO of Zui. “As part of the Saban Brands family, Zui will provide resources that allow kids to leverage the power of the Internet in new and exciting ways, while maintaining a safe environment.”
Zui’s approach has proven successful – its sites have attracted leading advertisers in the category, and accolades from National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA), the Parents Choice Awards, Children’s Technology Review and CNET, as well as certifications from the KidSAFE Seal Program and WiredSafety.
“The addition of Zui further establishes Saban Brands as a leader in online entertainment for kids,” said Dan Silberberger, Vice President of Digital at Saban Brands. “The features and functionality that Zui brings will complement Saban Brands’ recent launch of MyVortexx.com, a boys-focused entertainment destination site that supports Vortexx on The CW Saturday mornings.”
This acquisition continues Saban Brands’ growth in the digital arena. In addition to the company’s launch of MyVortexx.com, the company announced last month its acquisition of The Playforge, a leading mobile games developer and publisher.
