Paris-based media group Mediawan has launched a new pan-European entity, Mediawan Alliance, and has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire France’s Lagardere Studios.
The company has also acquired a majority stake in Spain’s Good Mood, and made an offer to acquire a minority stake in Leonine, a leading German independent company specializing in content production, distribution and licensing.
Mediawan Alliance has also entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Troisieme Oeil, a top French production company owned by Pierre-Antoine Capton, chairman of the Mediawan board.
Mediawan Alliance is being financially backed by MACSF and KKR, and is headquartered in Paris. The new entity will be co-headed by Capton as CEO, and Leonine CEO’s Fred Kogel as deputy CEO.
“We created Mediawan four years ago with the intention to create a European audiovisual champion to respond to the demand for premium content, and these new operations are unprecedented steps to continue our growth in new European geographies, new formats and with new partners,” said Capton.
“The combination with key players like Lagardère Studios and Groupe Troisième Oeil and the cooperation on projects with Leonine confirm Mediawan’s strategy,” added Capton.
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Lagardere Studios is an expansive French TV producer-distributor comprising 27 companies, including the Spanish banner Boomerang, which owns rights to a number of popular U.S. animated TV shows., and Atlantique Productions which executive produced the Damien Chazelle’s Netflix series “The Eddy”), and Imagissime, the documentary company behind the hit Netflix documentary series “Who Killed Little Gregory?”
Lagardere Studios has been on the market for some time and struggled to find a buyer. Vivendi, the parent company of Canal Plus Group and Universal Music Group, recently acquired a 10.6% stake in Lagardere, the parent company of Lagardère Studios.
Earlier this month, Mediawan launched a screening and distribution platform to fast-track dealmaking and make up for the raft of physical markets that are being canceled due to the coronavirus crisis. The company already owns Italy’s Palomar and France’s ON Entertainment, among a flurry of companies in France.
More to come.