Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios acquires Bayou City Broadcasting for $165M

May 6, 2019 — Fusion DigiNet

Entertainment StudiosEntertainment Studios, Inc., one of the US’s largest independent producers and distributors of film and television, with 43 shows on the air, and owner of nine 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 160 million subscribers, has acquired Bayou City Broadcasting Evansville, Inc., and Bayou City Broadcasting Lafayette, Inc for $165 million. Founder Byron Allen is purchasing the station groups through his company, Allen Media Broadcasting LLC. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Byron Allen, who recently joined Sinclair Broadcast Group to successfully acquire the Fox/Disney 21 Regional Sports Networks for $10.6 billion, and also purchased The Weather Channel in 2018, has publicly stated he has been aggressively pursuing additional media assets to purchase. The purchase of these four Bayou City Broadcasting entities — WEVV (CBS) & WEEV (Fox) in Evansville, Indiana and KLAF (NBC) and KADN (Fox) in Lafayette, Louisiana — provides Allen’s television unit with a broader audience and strategically positions the company in broadcast and digital media.

Bayou City Broadcasting Owner/President/CEO DuJuan McCoy said, “Byron Allen is a visionary, and a brilliant entrepreneur who always gets it done. [His] companies, which exemplify excellence, are perfectly positioned to continue the strong tradition these stations have in serving their communities.”

Allen’s expansion into broadcast television is the latest step Entertainment Studios has taken in further expanding the global reach of its programming and content. The Entertainment Studios divisions now include: broadcast television network affiliates, streaming services, broadcast television syndication, production and distribution of 43 television programs, nine 24/7 HD television networks, theatrical motion picture production, acquisition and global distribution, digital movie acquisition and distribution, and global news publishing – making Entertainment Studios one of the largest privately-held media companies in the world.

USA, Los Angeles, CA & The Woodlands, TX

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ZDF Enterprises invests in Nadcon Film

January 28, 2019 — Fusion DigiNet

ZDF EnterprisesZDF Enterprises, the commercial arm of German public broadcaster ZDF, has acquired shares in Nadcon Film, gaining a majority stake in the company. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Nadcon Film was founded in 2012 by Peter Nadermann and Constantin Film, and specialises in co-producing film and television projects, mainly with international partners. Nadermann will remain the managing director of the German company following ZDF Enterprises’ takeover of the majority of the shares previously held by Constantin Film.

Fred Burcksen, president and CEO of ZDF Enterprises, said, “We are pleased to be able to resume our successful collaboration while taking on a corporate structure. ZDF Enterprises and Peter Nadermann set the trend many years ago by being the first to invest in Scandinavian crime series and successfully distribute them around the globe. The result: the widely recognised international interest in ‘Nordic Noir’ remains as strong and steady as ever. We are confident that we will be able to come up with new ideas and create trends within this new cooperation.”

Germany, Mainz & Munich

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Comcast outbids Fox to acquire Sky in £30BN deal

September 22, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Comcast CorporationThe Comcast Corporation is to acquire Sky after an unusual blind bidding auction moderated by the UK Takeover Panel saw their offer of £17.28 per share overshadow Fox’s £15.67 rival offer, for a total of £30.6 billion in cash for the entire issued and to be issued Sky share capital. The bid has already been accepted by Sky’s independent directors and shareholders now have until 11 October to decide whether to accept the recommended offer.

The acquisition ends a two-year bidding war and follows Comcast’s unsuccessful attempt to take over Fox in June, when it lost out to Disney. Sky has 26 million customers across Europe, and has backed the production of shows for Amazon, HBO and Showtime. It’s also well known for its sports broadcasting, such as its Premier League channel. Comcast will soon have a much larger international presence in these fields.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s group chief executive, said: “As part of a broader Comcast we believe we will be able to continue to grow and strengthen our position as Europe’s leading direct to consumer media company. Today’s outcome is down to the hard work of tens of thousands of people who have built and developed this business together over the last 30 years. Sky has never stood still, and with Comcast our momentum will only increase.”

USA, Philadelphia, PA & UK, London

 

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Kew Media Group to acquire Essential Quail Media Group

April 30, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Kew Media GroupKew Media Group Inc. has agreed to acquire Essential Quail Media Group for an initial purchase price of AUD$32.8 million (C$31.9 million based on the current CAD/AUD FX rate of approximately 0.972), comprised of AUD$20.0 million (C$19.4 million) in cash and AUD$12.8 million (C$12.4 million) in Class B shares of KEW valued at C$10.00 per share.

EQ Media combines several entities with aggregate pro forma revenue of over AUD$60 million (C$58 million). The initial purchase price represents a transaction multiple of approximately 3.2x EQ Media’s estimated Adjusted EBITDA of AUD$10.2 million (C$9.9 million) for its fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. The cash portion of the initial purchase price will be funded through cash on hand and KEW’s credit facilities. The vendors may receive additional consideration in the future, conditional upon EQ Media meeting certain financial targets and other tests, which are described below.

EQ Media is a leading independent producer of high quality content for international audiences operating from offices in Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth in the U.S. and Sydney, Australia. EQ Media produces content in a variety of genres, particularly non-scripted television series, for broadcast customers worldwide. Buyers of EQ Media’s programming include DIY, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Animal Planet, ABC Australia, SBS, Foxtel Networks 7, 9 & 10, BBC, National Geographic, PBS, Discovery, Sundance, History Channel, Arte, Netflix and Fox Network. EQ Media also has a longstanding relationship with Scripps Networks (now part of Discovery Inc.), producing more than a dozen full series orders and pilots together.

Steven Silver, KEW Founder & CEO, said, “EQ Media is an exciting addition to the KEW group and the transaction purchase price is an attractive valuation for such a prominent content producer. We expect the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings and to free cash flow. In addition, we expect to generate meaningful synergies from the sale of additional EQ Media content through KEW’s global distribution platform.”

Canada, Toronto & USA, Los Angeles, CA

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DLT Entertainment acquires Vera Productions

April 24, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

DLT EntertainmentIndependent production and distribution company DLT Entertainment has acquired production company Vera Productions. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Through the deal Vera will continue to operate as a separate company under the DLT banner but will be wholly owned by DLT Entertainment. DLT will acquire Vera’s portfolio of extensive programming, approximately 300 hours in the catalogue, with series currently represented by a number of distributors.

Vera launched in 1994, and has since produced an extensive portfolio of award-winning shows including Bremner Bird and Fortune, three series of Getting On starring Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine, and Joanna Scanlan for BBC Four, four series of Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression for BBC One, six series of Mark Thomas Product and numerous Dispatches for Channel 4, including the recent President Trump’s Dirty Secrets, Politicians for Hire and How to Buy A Football Club. In addition, Vera has produced several pieces for Channel 4 News and created Big Trouble in Thailand for Bravo, and most recently produced Million Pound Jewellers for Channel 4 Arts and three episodes of Going Forward starring Jo Brand and Omid Djalili for BBC Four.

Donald Taffner Jr., President of DLT Entertainment, said, “We have had a long regard for the shows that Vera has produced […]. DLT are not in the production company aggregation business for growth and this acquisition does not signal a change in that philosophy, but welcomes Vera to the DLT family where we will provide business and financial support while Vera Productions will continue as the production entity for its programmes. It is a very exciting time.”

UK, London

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Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Inc. acquires The Weather Channel

March 22, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Entertainment StudiosEntertainment Studios, one of the largest independent producers and distributors of film and television with nearly 160 million aggregate subscribers across the US, has acquired The Weather Group, parent company of The Weather Channel television network and Local Now streaming service. Byron Allen, founder and owner of Entertainment Studios, purchased the Weather Group through his company, Allen Media LLC, from The Blackstone Group, Bain Capital, and Comcast/NBC Universal.

The Weather Channel is one of the largest cable television networks not owned by a major conglomerate and is the nation’s only 24-hour source of national storm coverage. Harris Poll has ranked The Weather Channel as the “TV News Brand of the Year” for eight years in a row. The network recently launched a community platform, weloveweather.tv, to create a two-way dialogue with fans.

Allen said, “The Weather Channel is one of the most trusted and extremely important cable networks, with information vitally important to the safety and protection of our lives. We welcome The Weather Channel, which has been seen in American households for nearly four decades, to our cable television networks division. The acquisition of The Weather Channel is strategic, as we begin our process of investing billions of dollars over the next five years to acquire some of the best media assets around the world.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA & Atlanta, GA

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Keshet acquires majority stake in Greenbird Media

March 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Keshet InternationalKeshet International, the global production and distribution arm of Israeli media giant Keshet, has acquired a majority stake in UK production company incubator, investor and biz accelerator Greenbird Media. The deal sees Keshet up its share of Greenbird and take over BBC Worldwide’s 30% stake in the company. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Greenbird, a venture from Shine TV executive Jamie Munro and Stuart Mullin from Argonon, was founded in 2012 and provides independent producers with access to innovative funding models and licensing deals to support their creative productions.

KI, known for “Homeland,” “The A Word” and “Rising Star,” will become distribution partner for Greenbird Media’s production companies and boost its roster with more entertainment and factual content, while Greenbird will continue to guide its independent producers in terms of funding and licensing deals for creative productions.

Alon Shtruzman, CEO of Keshet International, said, “Greenbird Media, with its entrepreneurial and creative culture, is the perfect match for us. We share similar philosophies and values, and by combining KI’s global footprint with Greenbird Media’s stellar team, I see limitless possibilities and accelerated growth.”

Israel, Jerusalem & UK, London

 

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Lagardère acquires majority stake in Skyhigh TV

March 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

LagardereThe French audiovisual production group Lagardère Studios has taken a majority stake in Dutch TV production company Skyhigh TV. The move follows the acquisition of Boomerang TV in Spain and Aito Media Group in Finland respectively in 2015 and 2017. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Skyhigh was founded in 1999 and specializes in the production and distribution of entertainment, factual and documentary programs. It is owned by its three founding shareholders: Marc Dik, Wilfred Drechsler and Bernard van den Bosch.

The largest indie television producer in the Netherlands, Skyhigh produces 35 series per year, including such successful projects as The Bully Project, Model in One Day and Teen Mom Celebrity Support.

Christophe Thoral, president of Lagardère Studios said, “The Netherlands is the third largest exporter of TV formats in the world. Our acquisition of Skyhigh TV naturally serves to further our strategy for international growth, but it will also accelerate our policy of creating and circulating formats among our various structures”.

France, Boulogne-Billancourt & Netherlands, Hilversum

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Will Packer Media acquires women’s lifestyle site xoNecole

January 18, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Will PackerWill Packer Media has acquired xoNecole, a lifestyle site created by, and for, urban millennial women. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded by blogger Necole Kane, xoNecole’s mission is to promote positive images of women of colour, as well as empower, educate and inspire millennials through interviews, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, career and travel features. Kane’s initial gossip site, NecoleBitchie.com, launched in 2008. The site rebranded in 2015 to focus on universal themes important to young women.

The deal expands WPM’s media footprint with xoNecole becoming the company’s first owned and operated digital platform and complementing its existing strength in TV, digital and branded content production. WPM will implement an accelerated growth strategy for the cross-platform brand, expanding its video, social and mobile offerings, and building a branded newsletter and multi-faceted event series to further connect with its audience.

Will Packer, CEO and founder of Will Packer Media, said, “Necole is amazingly gifted in her ability to connect with women and deliver much needed engaging, smart and empowering content that is aspirational and impactful.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY & Atlanta, GA

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Mediawan acquires 3 major French production companies

January 15, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

MediawanMediawan, an independent European audiovisual content platform, is planning to acquire majority stakes in three production companies: Makever, Mon Voisin Productions and Storia Television (the company created to take over EuropaCorp’s TV business, excluding US series).

Under the terms, Mediawan (i) has acquired, through the Storia Television subsidiary, part of EuropaCorp Television’s business, and (ii) would purchase majority stakes in Makever and Mon Voisin Productions subject to the finalization of the transactional documents and to the usual conditions precedent for these types of transactions. All of these transactions could be finalized during the first quarter of 2018.

These companies gather together numerous major projects in France and internationally. They would allow Mediawan to continue supplement its premium content offering and expand its production volumes, as they represented revenues of over €50 million in 2017. Mediawan is thus strengthening its position in European independent production, notably by becoming the leading French producer of TV fiction.

Pierre-Antoine Capton, Mediawan’s Chairman of the Board, says: “These strategic investments in EuropaCorp TV, Makever and Mon Voisin Productions would be another milestone in the implementation of Mediawan’s strategy. With an extensive offering of premium content combining fiction, animated content and documentaries, Mediawan is in the best position possible to meet the substantial market demand.”

France, Paris

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