Toronto prodco Aircraft Pictures founders Andrew Rosen (pictured left) and Anthony Leo (pictured right) have bought back their company’s shares from Corus Entertainment.

The duo announced on Tuesday (Aug. 6) that they entered a binding agreement with Corus to repurchase a majority stake in the company, making Rosen and Leo sole stakeholders of Aircraft. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Corus acquired its majority stake in the company in 2022, which Rosen and Leo said at the time would help increase Aircraft’s development, financing and production capabilities.

Aircraft’s recent work with Corus includes the Netflix and StackTV series Geek Girl, produced with RubyRock Pictures and Nelvana. The company also helped produce CBC Gem and CBBC series Gangnam Project with Pillango Productions.

The prodco’s slate includes scripted projects ranging from kids and family to YA and one-hour drama, according to a news release. Projects previously announced as in development include Non-Stop and The Emperor’s Stone: The Search of La Buse’s Treasure.

“This partnership has allowed Aircraft to take advantage of additional resources and opportunities that have helped position the company for growth as we head into our 20th year in business,” said Leo in a statement.

Corus has been undergoing a raft of cost-efficiency measures to right-size the business in the face of more than $1 billion in debt, including laying off about 25% of its workforce (roughly 800 jobs) by the end of August.

“It has been a pleasure working alongside Andrew and Anthony as Corus has long been a champion of Aircraft Pictures’ exceptional storytelling,” said Corus co-CEO Troy Reeb. “As we continue to refine Corus’ content business, we look forward to seeing their ongoing growth in the global marketplace and wish them well on their next chapter.”

Photo by Shawn Goldberg