Islamic-inspired superheroes looking for a new home

Founder of The 99 comic book is actively looking for a global buyer to take the company to the next stage of development.

The creator of the Islamic-inspired characters is looking to sell of a stake in the company or partner with a conglomerate. Courtesy Teshkeel Media Group

The comic book heroes Jaleel the Majestic and Mumita the Destroyer, along with the rest of The 99 collective, are up for sale.

The creator of the Islam-inspired characters, Teshkeel Media Group, is looking to sell off a stake in the company or partner with a large media conglomerate.

"We want to become part of a bigger media entity, and we are actively looking," said Naif Al Mutawa, the founder of Teshkeel. "All options are on the table but ideally an M&A with an entity that can leverage our intellectual property and can benefit from the expertise that we have built up over the last 10 years in building The 99."

The company is also open to partnering with a larger media company if the opportunity arises but only one with global ambitions so that it can continue to focus on creating more content alongside The 99 series.

Last month, Teshkeel sold an undisclosed equity stake to Crescent Enterprises, part of the Abraaj Capital investment bank based in Dubai. This third round of financing raised US$15 million (Dh55m) for Teshkeel, of which Abraaj Capital put in $US11.3m.

The capital is being used to finance the second season of its television animation series, which will be finished within a year.

Its distribution partners in the Middle East and North Africa, Turkey, Australia and Asia have already signed up to the new season.

The 99, a host of comic book heroes inspired by the 99 names of God in the Islamic tradition, gained worldwide fame in 2010 after the US president Barack Obama praised the innovation and the idea behind the series, which led to a backlash from some conservative Christian groups.

Teshkeel's US distributor, The Hub, part of the Discovery Channel network, delayed the airing of the show for fear of advertisers pulling out.

Teshkeel's broadcasting rights will be returned from the Discovery Channel next month, giving the company the freedom to distribute the animated television show in the US, which it plans to do through non-traditional media.

Mr Al Mutawa said he was setting his focus on new technologies, gaming, toys and a possible film franchise for The 99.

The company will launch a new website with the British animation studio Aardman in December. The comics have also spawned a theme park in Kuwait that attracts 300,000 visitors a year.

"This region, since time immemorial has been importing culture. It has been importing Turkish and American TV. There is production in the region, but the quality is not high enough to export. We have proven it is doable. Exporting culture - that's one of our strategies," said Mr Al Mutawa.

Teshkeel was founded in Kuwait in 2004 but due to poor intellectual property laws and rigid legal structures, Mr Al Mutawa registered the company in the Cayman Islands last year.

"I usually say we made it in spite of Kuwait. The laws in the country are not very friendly to a progressive media company. [Intellectual property] is not protected, which is tough," he said.

"There needs to be an overhaul of legal structures and we need to hear more stories. Not just the successful ones, but the mistakes made along the way."

This article has been altered to correct that Abraaj Capital put in $US11.3m not 11.3 per cent to the third round of financing.