DQE Signs Multiple German Deals

HYDERABAD, India, November 30, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DQE, the animation, gaming, live action entertainment production and distribution company, is pleased to announce the signing of an exclusive publishing licensing deal for 'The Jungle Book' through DQE's merchandising agents in Germany, ZDF Enterprises with Egmont Verlagsgesellschaften GmbH (Egmont), Germany and a non-exclusive deal with Belltex SA, Belgium for retailing Jungle Book based products in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Under the terms of the agreement, Egmont has the right to manufacture and distribute German language books in a variety of different formats - such as character books, friendship books, school diaries, pop-up books, comic books, painting books, and poster books. Egmont has been granted publishing rights for The Jungle Book in German speaking Europe. DQE will receive a royalty on sales through this deal from Egmont, in addition to a substantial upfront payment as a minimum guaranteed amount.

Egmont publishes a wide range of formats for children of all ages including storybooks, annuals, colouring, activity and sticker books as well as a range of novelty books. Their publishing list contains books featuring licensed characters, including Barbie, Ben10, Bob the Builder, Disney Fairies, Disney Princesses, Fireman Sam, Flat Stanley, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Power Rangers, Roy of the Rovers, Rupert Bear, Shaun the Sheep, Sir Charlie Stinky Socks, Tintin, The Wind in the Willows, Wallace and Gromit, Winnie-the-Pooh, Zoey101 and a large number of other iconic brands.

DQE is also please to announce it has concluded a non-exclusive licensing deal for 'The Jungle Book' with Belltex (Belgium). Under the terms of the agreement Belltex SA, Belgium has been authorised to manufacture and distribute bed linen and other similar products based on the The Jungle Book character license. Belltex has been provided the rights for retailing the products in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

DQE had earlier signed a deal with Belltex for The Jungle Book for the region of France and Benelux.

DQE's Jungle Book franchise has generated tremendous interest amongst licensees with DQE having signed multiple licensing and merchandising deals worldwide across various categories of products. The series has already started airing internationally recording excellent ratings on TF1, France, BBC, UK and TVO, Canada.

Tapaas Chakravarti Chairman & CEO of DQE Group commented, "Egmont has a great track record and penetration in the German speaking European markets and we believe that we have made the right choice in partnering with Egmont for Jungle Book publishing. This is the beginning of a new and strategic relationship and we look forward to our continued association with them."

On the Belltex agreement, Tapaas added, "This is our second deal with Belltex, this time for Germany, Austria and Switzerland for bed linen. We are sure The Jungle Book franchise will prove to be very successful and beneficial to all our partners."

Oliver Grundel, Project Manager Merchandising, sales and co-productions, ZDF Enterprises said "We are delighted to join forces with Belltex, one of the leaders in the field of home textiles. Belltex's outstanding market position and professionalism fit ideally into our overarching strategic structure of strong partnerships for optimum sales of a classical, superior property such as 'The Jungle Book"

He further added, "We are pleased to have found in Egmont a high-caliber partner of long standing for the exploitation of the 'Jungle Book' rights. The Egmont publishing house has been synonymous with successful and beloved children's and teen books for decades now. Thanks to this agreement with Egmont, we have laid down the groundwork for the transfer of the 'Jungle Book' brand's enormous potential to the publishing sector."

Sylvia Brucker, Director Merchandising for ZDF Enterprises, said: "As an intermediary between a top-of-the-line animation producer from India and an internationally active and highly experienced publishing group, we are happy to be able to promote a project that stands out for its modern, appealing treatment of a timeless classic of children's literature. We are confident that the market is always ready to give a positive, profitable reception to compelling products on classical topics."

"The books based on the TV series 'The Jungle Book' will play a major role in the portfolio of our children's book label SchneiderBuch," said Volker Busch, CEO of the EGMONT publishing group. "SchneiderBuch traditionally stands for premium, entertaining books for children and youths. Our readers particularly love our sensitively rendered publications based on films and TV series. As a classic of world literature, 'The Jungle Book' is clearly a major new addition to our publishing program. The fact that it is currently being brought to life again in a brand-new CGI-animated TV series is a major asset for SchneiderBuch. This production highlight is exactly the accent we need, as we are in the process of adapting our much-admired, high-quality traditional children's book program to make it even more appealing to new and future generations of children. We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with ZDF and DQ Entertainment!"

DESCRIPTION:

The series tell stories of the man-cub 'Mowgli' raised in the Indian jungles by a pack of wolves. Drama, excitement and adventure mixed with a high element of comedy tell tales of how Mowgli lives and survives in the jungle, where his only companions are animals. His adventures reflect his daredevil, fearless, high-spirited and fun-loving escapades. He is helped by Baloo the wise bear, his best friend Bagheera the black panther and (sometimes!) mighty Kaa, the rock python. Mowgli learns to overcome adversity and make progress in his life by using his quick wit and natural curiosity, with his constantly optimistic outlook on life. This is very challenging for the little man-cub with an evil enemy like Shere Khan, the royal Bengal tiger.

Mowgli's adventures open out in the lush tropical forest of Seeonee amidst splendid Indian royal forts, temples, waterfalls and the Waingunga river. Throughout the series other characters from the Kipling stories add flavor to the drama, comedy and action, bringing out excellent animation and quality storytelling.

About EGMONT Verlagsgesellschaften GmbH

EGMONT Verlagsgesellschaften, a Cologne-based book publisher, consists of 5 imprints: VGS, LYX, SchneiderBuch, Ehapa Comic Collection and Egmont Manga & Anime. Each imprint stands for an individual program, and together they offer ambitious, lively entertainment and fun for all age groups. VGS offers a range of popular non-fiction books as well as media-related guide- and cookbooks. Founded in 2007, the label LYX quickly rose to become one of Germany's most successful publishers of romantic fantasy novels. Next to vampire sagas and heroic fantasy, the new genre "romantic thriller" has become a well-established part of the program. SchneiderBuch looks back on more than 90 years of publishing popular and widely loved books for children and teens. Ehapa Comic Collection features graphic novel classics and also specializes in original German graphic novels and event-graphic novels. As one of the biggest Manga and Manhwa (of Asian origin) publishers of the world, Egmont Manga & Anime also boasts German illustrators (Mangas made in Germany). EGMONT Verlagsgesellschaften is an enterprise of the international EGMONT Group, whose main office is in Copenhagen.

About DQE:

DQE is one of the leading producers of animation, visual effects, game art and live action entertainment content for the global media and entertainment industry. DQE's production in hi-end 3D, 'The Jungle Book' is in production as a 52 episode animated series and a 60 minute TV feature in co-production with international majors including TF1 and Moonscoop, France, ZDF Group, Germany and is to be released worldwide in 2010.

Toomai-The Elephant Boy is a live action TV series which is currently being developed in co-operation with international broadcasters, while several Indian IPs like Mysteries & Feluda, Omkar, Balkand I, II and III with international broadcasters have had a successful run.

DQE has also announced the development of a series of animated short films for television in collaboration with French production companies Method Animation and MK2. DQE, Method Animation and MK2 announced the production and worldwide distribution and exploitation of an animated version of 104 six-minute episodes inspired by the legendary film icon Charlie Chaplin's Hollywood films. DQE is also producing a 3D animated stereoscopic feature film "The Prodigies" for Onyx Films and Fidelite Films, France.

DQE has received recognition and awards at several national and international forums fostering creativity and excellence. Recent recognitions include the Ernst & Young, Entrepreneur of the Year - 2009 India Awards, The UK Broadcast Awards 2010, Sichuan TV Festival International "Gold Panda" Awards, The Emmy Award, administered by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Tutenstein TV series co-produced by DQE and several others.

DQE's production facilities are based in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Kolkata and it has international sales representatives in Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo. With a workforce of approximately 3,500 permanent employees, DQE has a global client-partner base of over 90 producers, distributors, broadcasters and licensors including Walt Disney Group, Universal Pictures, Nickelodeon Animation Studios Inc., Electronic Arts, Marvel Comics, American Greetings, BBC Group, M6/France TV Group/TF-1 - leading broadcasting and distribution groups from France, ZDF TV and ZDF Enterprises - leading broadcasting and global distributors from Germany, ABC Australia, Al Jazeera - Arabic nations, Disney Channels - Asia, Cartoon Network Group and many more worldwide.

    DQ Entertainment International              Tel: +91-40-2355-3726/27
    Sumedha Saraogi
    [email protected]

    P R Vishnu
    [email protected]

SOURCE DQ Entertainment International (DQE)