Short answers, pulled from the story.
Tim Anderson and Paul Wiegard founded Madman Entertainment in 1996 as a mail-order business importing anime tapes. The company was inspired by the success of Manga Entertainment in the United States and the United Kingdom.
AnimeLab launched in beta on the 28th of May 2014 with 50 series and 700 episodes. During the beta period, all titles were available free without advertisements.
Madman Entertainment's first DVD release was Ghost in the Shell, the 1995 film. Producing it made the company only the second Australian distributor to author DVDs in-house.
Aniplex acquired a minority interest in Madman Anime Group on the 15th of November 2017. Five V Capital then sold the company outright to Aniplex on the 6th of February 2019.
AnimeLab announced its retirement on the 2nd of November 2021, with the service closing on the 9th of December 2021. The platform had rebranded as Funimation on the 17th of June 2021 before the final closure.
Madman Anime Festival was replaced by Crunchyroll Expo Australia. The replacement was announced on the 29th of March 2022, with the first Crunchyroll Expo Australia scheduled for Melbourne on the 17th and the 18th of September 2022.