Fox Entertainment has acquired indie prodco MarVista Entertainment to make new content for its channels and to give both companies access to a wider international network of third-party buyers and co-pro partners. The deal is worth more than US$100 million, according to a Fox spokesperson.

Based in LA, MarVista—which produces an average of 80 films per year, including kids and family titles such as All Hallows’ Eve and Back of the Net—will also offer a blueprint for Fox as it works to become a more efficient development and production company, according to a release. And the acquisition will let Fox tap into new talent from MarVista’s stable—often first-time creators and directors—to develop projects for platforms such as AVOD Tubi, a major area of focus for the media company.

For MarVista, the deal is a chance to scale and build its global distribution business, said CEO Fernando Szew in a release. Szew will continue to head up the prodco, but now reports to Stefan Reinhardt, Fox Entertainment’s president of production strategy and operations. There are no places to reduce staff once the acquisition is complete.

MarVista owns a catalogue containing more than 2,500 hours of content. Some of its kids productions include Disney’s Under Wraps (pictured), holiday films like Tiny Christmas, and sports titles such as Going for Gold and Rip Tide. The company recently expanded its kids slate via a multi-picture deal with New York’s MiMO Studios that includes an agreement to produce at least five live-action movies for children.

Fox Entertainment was formed following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019. Owned by Fox Broadcasting, the division has been ramping up its M&A activity recently in a bid to expand its portfolio with new content. In September, Fox Entertainment acquired TMZ and all of its media properties from WarnerMedia. And in 2019, Fox bought LA-based animation studio Bento Box, which launched a new series, Wolfboy and the Everything Factory, on Apple TV+ in September.