South Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM has acquired a majority stake in Stockholm-based rights-management and sales company Eccho Rights.
A leading entertainment and merchandising company in Asia, CJ ENM will give Eccho Rights the resources to expand its global footprint across Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
Eccho Rights has offices in Stockholm, Istanbul, Madrid, Seoul and Manila. In the past year, Eccho Rights has licensed more than 15,000 hours of TV series globally. The company has been selling drama series from Western Europe, as well as emerging markets such as Russia, India and Korea.
The acquisition underscores CJ ENM’s strategy to accelerate its global expansion and content business in key markets. The deal will bring together CJ ENM’s format business, content sales and distribution with the catalogue of IPs represented by Eccho Rights.
“The merger will create exceptional value for both sides to consolidate our global presence,” said Chul-yeon Kim, SVP of CJ ENM’s global business. “This will substantially enable us to leverage our premium contents to reach worldwide audiences offering unique experiences and enjoyment.”
Fredrik af Malmborg, co-managing director at Eccho Rights, said: “CJ ENM is the ideal partner for Eccho Rights in [its] ambition to build on [its] business models in television drama for the future.”
He said Eccho Rights’ track record in the Turkish and Western drama market “creates a very solid link to Korea and the rest of Asia.”
The company, whose current slate includes the female-centric Swedish thriller “Honour,” will continue to operate under its existing management and brand. Eccho and CJ will be run as separate units.