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TAFFY ENTERTAINMENT SECURES LICENSING RIGHTS TO ACCLAIMED KIDS FRANCHISE GERONIMO STILTON

Worldwide Licensing & Consumer Products Deal Follows Co-Production Deal on New Animated Series From Italy's Atlantyca Entertainment, Canada's 9 Story Entertainment and France's MoonScoop Productions.

Taffy Entertainment has signed a deal with Italy's Atlantyca Entertainment to oversee Consumer Products licensing on the new "Geronimo Stilton" animated television series, based on the award-winning international kids' chapter book series of the same name. Taffy will handle worldwide licensing and promotional rights to the Geronimo Stilton TV series, except for worldwide publishing and all licensing in Italy. These rights will continue to be held by Atlantyca, the original rights holder.

The agreement comes on the heels of the recently-announced Geronimo Stilton animated television series co-production deal between Atlantyca, Canada's Emmy® and Gemini Award-winning animation production and distribution studio, 9 Story Entertainment and France-based MoonScoop Productions, the leading producer of animation in Europe.

The Geronimo Stilton books are published world wide, in Italy by Edizioni Piemme (Mondadori Group) and in the U.S. by Scholastic. The book series centers on the life and adventures of a best-selling author, discovered by Elisabetta Dami while traveling around the world, Geronimo Stilton who happens to be a mouse living in New Mouse City on Mouse Island. Geronimo is an intellectual mild-mannered mouse who despite wanting nothing better than to live a quiet life, works as the editor-in-chief of the most famous Mouse Island's newspaper: The Rodent's Gazette and keeps managing to get involved in far-away, marvelously humorous capers with his younger sister Thea Stilton, cousin Trap Stilton, and favorite nephew, nine-year-old Benjamin Stilton.

"Geronimo Stilton has become one of the most beloved children's book series world wide. Atlantyca Entertainment was established to create new avenues for top publishing properties like this one," explains Pietro Marietti, Chairman of Atlantyca Entertainment. "For Geronimo Stilton, one of our initial objectives was to find a consumer products partner that both shared our passion for Geronimo and has the right team in place to implement a strong licensing program on a global basis," "We have found exactly what we wanted with Taffy Entertainment - a wealth of experience in the kids business and a creative and resourceful Consumer Products Group with a global reach."

"A project like Geronimo Stilton comes around maybe once in a generation," says Cynthia Money, President, Worldwide Consumer Products and Marketing for Taffy Entertainment. "Geronimo and his stories have been a welcome visitor in children's homes worldwide for many years now and we intend to work only with potential partners who can bring something to the marketplace that will be equally embraced by both children and parents alike. The brand has enormous potential in nearly every category, but we see particular strengths in the areas of video games, electronics, toys, wireless, apparel, stationery and home décor in particular. Nonetheless, we will honor the connection kids and parents have with Geronimo and the other characters in everything we develop around the brand."

The Geronimo Stilton books were first published in Italy in May 2000 and to date have sold over 14 million in Italy alone. They have been translated into 29 languages, are available in over 175 countries and the book series has garnered numerous awards, including The Cenacolo Award (2000) for Publishing and Multimedia Innovation and The Andersen Prize (2001) as the Personality of The Year. Geronimo's My First Internet Manual won the International Children's e-book Award in 2002 and this year was honored at the Italian Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards in the best book category.