Chinese giant buys Stan Lee’s POW!

Stan Lee’s Lucky Man

A Chinese media, brands and merchandising giant has bought legendary comic book writer Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment.

Camsing International Holding has paid an undisclosed amount for the production entity, which works in superhero-focused animation and drama programming.

The deal is for POW!’s library of film, TV, games, virtual reality, animation, live events, tours, comics and publishing assets.

Hong Kong-based Camsing, which is part of Camsing Global Group, will seek to boost the profile of Lee’s properties in Asia through its IP management operation.

Camsing US VP Shane Duffy will become CEO of POW!, with Gill Champion transitioning to president. Lee will remain as chief creative officer.

“I am enthusiastic to continue with the next chapter of my career and to be involved with the continued development and production of so many of the new projects that we developed while at POW Entertainment,” said Lee, who is known for co-creating Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four and Iron Man.

“The Camsing merger will provide additional resources for development of these projects and access to new markets. Ultimately this will enhance and create additional opportunities for fans of the genre around the globe to enjoy the superheroes that we have created over the last few years. Excelsior!”

Camsing Chairman and CEO Vivian Lo said the deal would “bring significant synergy by combing POW!’s existing intellectual property library and Camsing’s strong IP merchandising network in China”.

“At the same time, this deal will enhance Camsing’s comic intellectual property creation capability by working with Lee, who is a global proven name. The group will continue to produce better products and content for its global customers and develop another ‘Marvel’ in the Asian market.”

Camsing has worked with North American entertainment giants such as The Walt Disney Company, Hasbro and Warner Brothers, and properties such Transformers, Star Wars and Justice of League.

Lo founded Hong Kong in 1996, and the group has since launched offices in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen, Singapore, and the LA.

POW! is behind Sky 1 drama Lucky Man, which has run to two seasons.