Important Looking Pirates to Join Forces with Dream Machine FX

BOSTON & TORONTO & SYDNEY & STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a major milestone, Important Looking Pirates (“ILP”) announces it has merged into Dream Machine FX (“Dream Machine”, “Group”), a leading collective of high-end VFX houses around the world that already includes FIN Design + Effects, Mavericks VFX and ZERO VFX. This strategic combination, enabled by Arenova Capital (“Arenova”), marks Dream Machine’s entry into the European market and elevates both companies’ scale and reach, with the combined footprint stretching across 3 continents, 6 countries, and 11 cities.

Founded in 2007 in Stockholm by Niklas Jacobson and Yafei Wu, ILP has built a reputation as one of the most distinguished VFX houses in the world with an unparalleled body of work that spans feature films, episodic series, game cinematics, and commercials. For its exceptional work, ILP has been nominated for 15 Creative Arts Emmy awards and 22 Visual Effects Society awards and is known for its key contributions on The Mandalorian, Westworld, Lost in Space, Lovecraft Country, Stranger Things and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It hopes to add to its award nomination totals this season for its significant contributions this past year on Shogun, Fallout, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Foundation.

Niklas Jacobson and Yafei Wu, Founders of ILP, shared their enthusiasm, "For nearly two decades, we have built Important Looking Pirates with passion and purpose and we are incredibly proud of the culture that we have built and the amazing talent that we have attracted. We’ve long held that we would only enter into a strategic combination if we found a partner who shared our values and our commitment to talent and artistry - we strongly believe that we have found that partner in Dream Machine. We believe that ILP and Dream Machine will strengthen one another and together we can reach even loftier heights." As part of the transaction, both founders of ILP will become meaningful shareholders in Dream Machine FX. Furthermore, Niklas Jacobson will join the board of the Group and Yafei Wu will become a Senior Advisor to Dream Machine and Arenova.

David Li, Managing Partner of Arenova Capital and Chairman of Dream Machine, added, “ILP is a truly one-of-a-kind VFX company and we are humbled that they have chosen Dream Machine to be their home. The driving force behind ILP’s success is that Niklas and Yafei have always kept the focus on the things that matter most; namely, ILP’s incredibly talented Pirates, a passion for perfection, and investment into state of the art technology - values that we share wholeheartedly at Dream Machine. We are thrilled to welcome ILP and each and every Pirate to the Dream Machine family and we look forward to nurturing, sharing and embracing the Pirate spirit across the Dream Machine group.”

ILP will retain its creative autonomy and continue to operate under its established brand and leadership. Eva Mautino, CEO of ILP, will continue to lead the company and also become a Managing Partner of the Group alongside Brian Drewes, Brendan Taylor, and Chris Spry.

Eva Mautino, CEO of ILP, stated, “The partnership with Dream Machine FX amplifies our strengths while allowing us to keep our creative independence. Our common vision for the future creates a fantastic opportunity to invest further in our team and expand our capabilities. Together with ILP’s management and creative leadership, I am excited for this new chapter and the possibilities it brings to all our Pirates and our Clients.”

Chris Spry, Brendan Taylor and Brian Drewes, Managing Partners of Dream Machine FX, jointly expressed, “Like many others in the industry, we have long admired ILP’s exceptional artistry and depth of talent. Welcoming the ILP team into the Dream Machine family underscores our commitment to fostering a talent-first environment and furthers our mission of building a scale VFX company with artists at its core.”

About Important Looking Pirates

Important Looking Pirates is a world class visual effects and digital animation studio, founded in Stockholm in 2007 by artists for artists. ILP has since grown into an award winning studio, with offices in Sweden, Germany and the UK. ILP’s vision is to be at the vanguard of VFX content creation, renowned for the quality of our work and services as well as for the depth of our company culture. All Pirates, artists, technicians and support personnel are driven by the passion for what we do, and always strive to push the limits of what can be accomplished.

About Dream Machine FX

Dream Machine FX is a global collective of world class VFX studios. With a mission of pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation in service of storytelling at the highest level, Dream Machine FX serves the leading entertainment companies in the world across film, television, commercial advertising, and interactive gaming. Dream Machine FX has operations in North America, Europe and Australia.

About Arenova Capital

Arenova Capital is a principal investment firm focused on founder-owned and founder-led companies in the middle market. Arenova seeks to catalyze growth in technology-enabled, media and communications companies through thoughtful partnership, support and investment, with the goal of building enduring industry leaders. Arenova Capital is based in Dallas, TX and was founded in 2022.