RedBird IMI has emerged as the new frontrunner in the race to buy All3Media, owner of Hollyoaks producer Lime Pictures, according to a report in the Financial Times.
According to the FT, the private equity group is in advanced talks with All3 owners Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global in a deal worth around £1B ($1.26B), which reportedly could complete before Christmas.
The majority Abu Dhabi-owned investor is also currently involved in a controversial bid to buy The Telegraph and Spectator, although that bid may be held up by UK press ownership rules over foreign state ownership – the owner of IMI, as well as Manchester City FC and several global media holdings including Sky News Arabia, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, is also vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a key member of the Gulf state’s royal family.
RedBird Capital, which owns the other 25% of RedBird IMI, has holdings in Transformers and Mission: Impossible producer Skydance Media, the New York Yankees’ YES Network, and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity.
French media giant Banijay, whose labels include Manchester’s Workerbee, was previously believed to be the frontrunner in the race for on-the-market All3, although Deadline reported it pulled out of the race last week. ITV also pulled out of a reported £1bn deal in August.
London-based All3Media comprises more than 50 production and distribution companies and labels from across the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand and the United States. It acquired Liverpool-based Mersey Television, producer of Brookside and Hollyoaks, in 2005, renaming it as Lime Pictures the following year.
