Global development

The company has grown into one of the largest independent family entertainment companies globally – with offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Poland, Australia and USA, and works with international partners who share the same mission: making children’s dreams come true.

Covid resilience

Despite Covid the company persevered in looking for growth opportunities, resulting in impressive performance metrics. Although the pandemic caused some deviations from the original plan, the investor's knowledge and experience proved invaluable. It was a perfect match.

Clear assessment of the business

The work of Eight enabled the investor to make a rapid and clear assessment of the business and gave it confidence and a clear idea about the current situation and the vision for the future.

The story behind the transaction between Studio 100 and 3d investors

Rationalizing intuition.
Making the impossible possible.

PODCAST

“Our investment company is owned by two families,” says Frank Donck, managing partner of 3d investors. “As a family investment company, we focus on very long-term investments, or patient capital as we like to call it. We always look for sustainable, profitable growth. We don’t have to distribute dividends to our shareholders, and we’re not interested in maximizing profits today or in three years’ time. We’re investing for our grandchildren, and our children are young teenagers. Investing in Studio 100 chimes with that. Studio 100’s characters and music are in the DNA of almost all Flemish people. It’s nostalgia and so much more.”

“One recurring aspect in all our investments is our focus on the entrepreneurs and the culture of a company. We look for people who have a sustainable, long-term vision and the ability to achieve it. This isn’t just about the man or woman at the top, but also the people around those entrepreneurs. Fifteen years ago, we had already expressed an interest in Studio 100, but we weren’t selected, and BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity was given preference. In these 15 years, the company has developed in an incredible way, and this has only strengthened our interest. In late 2019, we sat down with Vic Swerts, founder and chair of the building materials manufacturer Soudal, to see what we could do together regarding this case. In the end, Vic took 17% through his family holding company, while 3d investors took 8%. Hans Bourlon and Gert Verhulst still hold the majority, and BNP Paribas Fortis holds a quarter of the capital.”

How did your approach differ from that of 15 years ago? “We responded quickly and that may have caught the other bidders off guard. It was to our advantage that the work with Eight Advisory enabled us to make a rapid and clear assessment of the business. These advisers to the selling shareholders had solid vendor due diligence in place that allowed us to move quickly. All business processes and all value drivers were well presented. It gave us confidence and a clear idea about the current situation and the vision for the future. There was also a lot of trust right from the start between the Swerts family and Gert and Hans. Like the Swerts family, we have the mindset of entrepreneurs and think in the long term. The fact that we’re Flemish was also an advantage.”

Bio

With more than 30 years’ professional investing experience behind him, Frank Donck is the Managing Director of 3d investors. He is the Chair of Atenor Group, Senior Advisor at EQT, and a Board member of Elia, KBC Group, and Luxempart. Frank holds a master’s in law from Ghent University and a master’s in financial management from the Vlerick Business School.

COVID-19

Why did Studio 100 choose 3d? “You’d have to ask Gert and Hans that. The most important thing was – and still is – trust and doing your homework well. In the end, it’s about seeing eye to eye and having the same entrepreneurial dream. Whether a partnership is solid and likely to succeed is particularly evident in times of crisis. In our case, our partnership worked well during the COVID-19 period. No one panicked. After the deal was signed and even before it was finalized, all theatres and themes parks had to close – for much longer than anyone expected. But that experience has only strengthened the partnership, and the cohesion.”

COVID-19 was a financial bloodbath for many companies, including Studio 100. What has changed now that the pandemic is behind us? “A number of things were questioned. Sometimes decisions had to be made, but nothing that drastically changed the company, and certainly not its DNA. On the contrary, the Plopsa parks continued to expand and internationalize. In the Benelux, we continued to work hard on new musicals that we now intend to release in the Netherlands as well. Studio 100 still has phenomenal growth potential, especially in the theme parks.”

Confidence

How did you gain confidence in the company? “We felt the entrepreneurial spirit at all levels of the company, the initiative and creativity in the different departments. We also felt that Hans, like any good leader, had surrounded himself with strong people. He only took the floor to share his broad vision or talk about difficult decisions or issues facing the company. But mostly he sat at the table to gauge whether we would be a good partner for the company. We were also reassured by the way Hans and Gert trusted each other and had worked together for so long. They complement each other well: one focuses more on the business side, while the other focuses mainly on the media and the creative side. Both have a good feel for the market and which formats work, and they also have a knack for scouting and coaching talent. Hans and Gert embody a unique creativity and entrepreneurship in which others are also given the scope to invent, build, and create something new from scratch. In many companies, innovation and creativity are mainly the domain of the R&D department, far removed from the day-to-day business; here, it permeates the entire organization. Studio 100 consists of almost 30 projects, small companies if you like, where people can do their thing and try out new ideas and have the courage to kill initiatives, if necessary.”

“The company actually consists of three businesses, each with its own specific focus and unique qualities. The theme parks are always investments of 20 to 30 years. We’ve gone from one theme park in Belgium to parks in four countries. In addition to theme parks, there are aqua parks, outdoor and indoor experiences, major amusement parks, and compact initiatives in city centers. More and more, accommodation is also being built near the theme parks. So it’s very diverse. The parks are a completely different business from Studio 100 Benelux, where you can attract young children with characters such as Bumba or Kabouter Plop or with indoor performances by K3, but also appeal to families and adults with musicals such as 40–45 or the Red Star Line, with stories from our history or about universal themes like economic migration. Finally, our animation studios in Australia, LA, and Germany are responsible for producing and distributing animated content for leading broadcasters and streamers. This is much more of a project business. The common thread is touching the hearts of children and families and giving them an unforgettable experience.”

“My role is to listen critically. And to make some suggestions on how we can do things a little better, mostly with the same team, but with some small changes here and there. Sometimes that means applying a bit more structure based on our knowledge of processes in other companies. The point is not to change the DNA of the company but, on the contrary, to focus on the strengths and streamline the creative process. Helping to build businesses is about daring to take small steps, not revolutionary upheaval. At Studio 100, there’s a strong entrepreneurial culture and we need to nurture that. We add some knowledge and experience here and there, in terms of inorganic growth and its financing, in terms of governance. It’s a combination of experience and our gut feeling for business that connects us, certainly not spreadsheets.”