JibJab Acquires Make Believe Labs and Hello Santa

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JibJab Bros. Studios, a digital media production company, has acquired Make Believe Labs and its live video call service Hello Santa.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Make Believe Labs co-founders Dorian Collier, Jordan Lyall and Sam Dassanayake will move their Santa Monica operations to join JibJab’s 75-person staff at its Venice headquarters.

Make Believe’s Hello Santa app lets parents schedule live video chats with Santa Claus by providing details such as their child’s name and gift wishes. A trained Kris Kringle will then deliver a custom-tailored call, which can be recorded and saved.

JibJab, which produces digital content from videos to e-Cards, said Hello Santa would fall in line with its mission to entertain its users. Its flagship site JibJab.com reaches more than 50 million monthly unique visitors during the holiday season. The studio also creates child-learning apps through its StoryBot line.

“From our early political satires, to personalized dancing elves and e-Cards, we have been passionate about using technology to tell stories that make people happy,” said JibJab Chief Executive and co-founder Gregg Spiridellis in a statement.

This is JibJab’s first acquisition since launching in Brooklyn in 1999. Past JibJab investors include Polaris Venture Partners, Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Staff reporter Melissah Yang can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @MelissahYang for the latest in L.A. tech news.

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