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'Wallace & Gromit' Producer Aardman Animations Transfers Ownership to Employees
In an era of entertainment industry mergers and acquisitions, the founders of British animation powerhouse Aardman – the much-loved Oscar-winning studio behind Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep – have moved to ensure their company’s continued independence by transferring it into employee ownership.
The decision, made by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, who first set up Aardman in 1972, will see the majority of company shares transferred into a trust, which will then hold them on behalf of the workforce.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, both Lord and Sproxton explained that the move was about seven years in the making, and while it wasn’t an indicator of their imminent departure, meant that Aardman was in “the best possible shape” for when that moment came and would help secure its creative legacy and culture.
“We’ve spent so much time building this company up and being so profoundly attached to it. It’s not a business to us, it’s everything, it’s our statement to the world,” said Lord. “Having done that for so many years, the last thing we wanted to do was to just flog it off to someone.”
[...] Although Lord and Sproxton insisted they weren’t yet ready to retire – “we’re not quitting!” – Sproxton said he would be looking to hire a new managing director to replace him over the next 12 months, at which point he’d segue into a consultancy role and would also look to get back behind the camera. Lord, however, will remain as creative director, with a focus on Aardman’s film output.
Despite having made the decision to prevent the company from being swallowed up by a big studio, both the Aardman founders admitted that they hadn’t actually had all that many offers over the years.
“It’s quite insulting really!” joked Lord, who revealed that DreamWorks had made the suggestion when they were working together on Chicken Run in 2000. “But we resisted because we’re fiercely independent and still are.”
Added Sproxton: “Katzenberg said, ‘Well why don’t you just sell to us?’ And we thought, ‘Well why would we?’”
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 12 2018, @06:56PM
If men are not angels, that's all the more reason not to build society around a monopoly on violent imposition.
Bastiat ripped you a new one in 1850 [bastiat.org]:
Damn. What a savage.