Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's Dualstar Partners With Cole and Dylan Sprouse

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's Dualstar Partners With Cole and Dylan Sprouse

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- After more than a dozen years devoted exclusively to leveraging the appeal of Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen into a powerhouse entertainment and lifestyle brand with global reach, Dualstar Entertainment Group today announced a partnership with 13-year-old actors Cole and Dylan Sprouse (Big Daddy, "Friends," "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody"). Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen took full ownership of Dualstar in January 2005 and have spent the last six months working closely with newly appointed CEO Diane Reichenberger and Executive Vice President Jill Zimmerman to identify new business opportunities, including the D.C. Sprouse brand, for the restructured company.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050914/LAW107)

Dualstar will be identifying opportunities in the teen market to develop strategic brand and entertainment campaigns for the D.C. Sprouse brand as well as Cole Sprouse and Dylan Sprouse, respectively. While seeking to license the rights for trend-right and appropriate consumer products for teen boys and girls, the company will restructure an online destination for the D.C. Sprouse brand, which, akin to its www.mary-kateandashley.com, will offer a broader lifestyle environment appealing to their existing and new fans from all over the world.

The deal, facilitated by Susan White of Whitespeed and Andy Cohan of Magna Global Licensing, licensing agents for Dylan, Cole and the D.C. Sprouse brand, solidifies Dualstar's commitment to create a diverse portfolio of brands as well as personalities with branding potential, building on the unmatched success of its flagship mary-kateandashley brand.

"Dualstar has evolved into a boutique entertainment company offering a specialized service of brand development, design and management. This deal represents the first of many partnerships for Dualstar, expanding on our original business model and opening the door for other opportunities in the months ahead," stated CEO Diane Reichenberger. "Cole and Dylan Sprouse are extraordinary young men who are talented, gracious and a lot of fun."

"I'm excited for our Dualstar team as well as everyone on Cole and Dylan's team. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to see Dualstar's potential finally being tapped into by another celebrity brand," said Ashley Olsen. "Cole, Dylan and the D.C. Sprouse brand are a perfect fit with Dualstar as we begin to move our company into the next phase of business development and expansion," adds Mary-Kate Olsen.

Commenting on the partnership, Merimark Entertainment's Josh Werkman, who manages Cole and Dylan Sprouse, stated, "Dualstar is a visionary organization with an unparalleled expertise in building and managing brands, ensuring integrity and longevity every step of the way. It is clear that Dualstar was the best match for Cole and Dylan, and we are thrilled to work with Diane, Jill, Ashley, Mary-Kate and the entire Dualstar team."

"For a long time we've looked up to Mary-Kate and Ashley because of our similar lives in the entertainment industry and that they've accomplished everything we want to do in business. I'm glad with all the choices out there, we now have the privilege of working closely with Mary-Kate and Ashley and their entire team at Dualstar," said Cole Sprouse. "It's great in the entertainment industry to be able to work in such a healthy environment as Dualstar. The entire world thinks Mary-Kate and Ashley are the coolest people on Earth and I completely agree!" adds Dylan Sprouse.

Identical twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse were born in Arezzo, Italy in 1992. Beginning their acting career at six months, they first shared the role of Brett Butler's youngest son Patrick Kelly on five seasons of the popular ABC series "Grace Under Fire." Segueing to their first film role in Adam Sandler's 1999 box office smash Big Daddy, they jointly earned four nominations from the MTV Movie Awards, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Young Artist Awards and YoungStar Awards. Subsequent feature work has included Dana Carvey's Master of Disguise and voiceover roles in Adam Sandler's animated Eight Crazy Nights. Cole and Dylan Sprouse also portrayed the role of Ross's son Ben Gellar in regular guest appearances on NBC's "Friends" and currently star together in The Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," the network's second highest-rated show now beginning its second season.

About Dualstar Entertainment Group

Founded in 1993 to leverage the universal appeal of then-"Full House" stars Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, Dualstar Entertainment Group is today the leader in affordable designer fashions for 'tween girls (age 5-12) through its mary-kateandashley brand. Augmenting its original focus on home video titles with books, music CDs, videogames and fashion dolls, Dualstar has subsequently expanded the mary-kateandashley brand into apparel, cosmetics, fragrances and home decor. Recently introducing Mary-Kate and Ashley's Official Online Fan Club, Dualstar previously launched a broader lifestyle destination, mary-kateandashley.com, which aims to offer 'tweens and teens an upbeat community environment with features and advice on health, beauty, fashion, entertainment and the mind-body-soul connection.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050914/LAW107 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN8 PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Dualstar Entertainment Group

CONTACT: Liz Jaeger, ljaeger@bwr-la.com, or Paulette Kam, pkam@bwr-la.com, both of BWR Public Relations, +1-310-550-7776, for Dualstar Entertainment Group

Web site: http://www.mary-kateandashley.com/

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