Endemol Shine Group – Europe’s largest independent production company – has been wholly acquired by Banijay Group.
The company, which has its northern base at MediaCityUK in Manchester and an additional office in Leeds, is behind dramas including Humans (above) and Black Mirror.
In total, Endemol Shine, co-owned by Apollo Global Management and Disney, has 120 production labels with an estimated 66,000 hours of scripted and non-scripted programming, together with more than 4,300 registered formats.
Banijay Group is the production and distribution company that created Wife Swap, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, The Secret Life of Four Year Olds and Survivor.
Total revenue for the combined group is expected to be approximately $3.3bn for the year ending December 31, 2019, making it the world’s biggest production group outside the United States.
Marco Bassetti, CEO of Banijay, said Endemol Shine would bring “an incredible array of industry-leading talent, globally-renowned brands and high-quality creative content,” to the business.
He added: “Combining the resources of these two companies will instantly strengthen our position in the global market, and our capabilities across genres will further define us as a go-to provider of first-class IP worldwide.
“Welcoming the Endemol Shine brands and talents to our existing business will signal enhanced opportunities in the marketplace, and we are all excited by what the future holds for the combined entity.”
Sophie Turner Laing, Endemol Shine Group’s CEO, added: “At Endemol Shine, we have continually inspired and entertained audiences around the world, a testament to every single person across the Group.
“This deal takes us into a whole new and exciting chapter and into a new enhanced global content house with many opportunities ahead.”
Details of the ultimate leadership structure of the company have not been revealed and neither has the value of the deal. A year ago, Endemol Shine North rebranded as ‘Workerbee’, moving into bigger premises and launching a Leeds office.
