RWS Entertainment Group has acquired themed entertainment firm JRA, the companies announced today at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando.
"With the acquisition of JRA, we are now one company with endless possibilities," RWS Entertainment Group Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Stana said. "We are a global leader in attraction design, and the only turnkey solution for full service leisure experiences. Together with JRA, we can dream it, design it, create it, and operate it. We save our clients time and money with the ability to include operational priorities right from the very beginning."
Founded in 2003, RWS Entertainment Group produces live performances and experiences at theme parks, theaters, museums, zoos, resorts, and cruise ships around the world. In 2016, RWS acquired Binder Casting, which casts performers for television, commercials, and Broadway. With this acquisition, JRA now will provide theater design, cruise ship design, and port of call destination design in addition to its theme park and attraction design services.
"Most of you don't know that our paths crossed about 20 years ago, when my wife Patty was Ryan's dance teacher at the University of Cincinnati," JRA Chief Executive Officer Keith James said. "When Ryan would come over for parties and visits in our house, we talked around the kitchen counter about the world of entertainment. Even then, I had the feeling that Ryan would make history. It's been a delight to watch Ryan grow his vision into the global Emmy Award-winning company that RWS Entertainment Group is today."
Terms of the deal were not announced. James will continue with the company as JRA's President.
"The name JRA is not going anywhere," Stana said. "The people who make JRA so special are not going anywhere. The Cincinnati headquarters is not going anywhere, because I want to continue my dance classes. We were two companies, two global leaders. Now we are one company and we are the best in the world. I am thrilled to welcome the amazingly talented team of JRA dreamers and doers to the RWS family."
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