The Fuse Group acquires El Ranchito

David Altenau and Sébastien Bergeron, Chairman and CEO of The Fuse Group, and Félix Bergés, Managing Director of El Ranchito.

The Fuse Group, parent organization to leading visual effects studios FuseFX, FOLKS, and Rising Sun Pictures, has acquired El Ranchito. The acquisition brings The Fuse Group to over 1,400 artists across twelve locations and four continents. El Ranchito co-founder and Managing Director Félix Bergés and the rest of the partners of the company will continue to lead the business and operate under the El Ranchito brand. “El Ranchito’s unrivaled pedigree in high-profile productions is a strong complement to the current makeup of The Fuse Group,” said Sébastien Bergeron, CEO. “The El Ranchito team has established a fantastic company whose culture and philosophies completely align with ours. We are thrilled to partner with them to further broaden our offerings of skill sets, locations, rebates, and services to our studio clients. El Ranchito’s previous work on such high-profile projects as Game of Thrones, See, Shadow and Bone, Stranger Things, and The Mandalorian has cemented their position as a truly elite provider of visual effects in the market”.

"We are excited to become a part of The Fuse Group. We have a common ethos with similar longstanding approaches to visual effects work, and our shared goal is to offer top-notch VFX services wherever clients most need them. We know this partnership is the right next step for us in achieving that shared vision,” commented Bergés, Managing Director of El Ranchito. David Altenau, co-founder of FuseFX and Chairman of The Fuse Group, added, “As demand for VFX services continues to grow worldwide, we at The Fuse Group are committed to building the next generation global full-service visual effects company that can seamlessly serve clients across multiple geographies. We are excited about the fit of El Ranchito within our vision for a tightly connected global set of leading VFX studios.”Loyra (legal) and Mesana (financial) have advised El Ranchito’s shareholders on this transaction. Jones Day acted as legal advisor and Alvarez & Marsal acted as due diligence advisor to The Fuse Group.

The Fuse Group brings together world-leading visual effects studios, FuseFX, FOLKS, Rising Sun Pictures, and now El Ranchito. The company employs over 1,400 personnel across twelve worldwide studio locations in Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Atlanta, Montréal, Toronto, Bogotá, Saguenay, Adelaide, Brisbane, Madrid, and Barcelona. The Fuse Group is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm.