Marco Bassetti
French media group Banijay will go public through a merger with a blank-check acquisition firm backed by billionaire Bernard Arnault. The production and distribution company will be part of FL Entertainment, which with this agreement happens to have an enterprise value of €7.2 billion ($7.6 billion), or €4.1 billion ($4.3 billion) in equity value, according to the Financial Times. The shares will begin trading on July 1.
In detail, FL Entertainment and Pegasus Entrepreneurs, a special purpose acquisition company focused on European growth companies, announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result in the listing of FL Entertainment on Euronext Amsterdam. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named FL Entertainment and will be led by Stéphane Courbit as Chairman and François Riahi as CEO.
“Achieving a public listing of FL Entertainment through this partnership with Pegasus Entrepreneurs is a milestone in the history of our group. As a result of the transaction, the group will benefit from a robust balance sheet and will be very well positioned to capture growth in the entertainment industry. FL Entertainment is all about partnership, and I am pleased to welcome Pegasus Entrepreneurs and its sponsors as shareholders to our strengthened partnership with Vivendi, SBM International, Fimalac and De Agostini, our existing shareholders in Banijay Group and Betclic Everest Group who have given us their full support to make FL Entertainment even more powerful,” said Stéphane Courbit, Chairman of the board of FL Entertainment and founder of Banijay.
“In forming FL Entertainment with Pegasus Entrepreneurs, our Chairman Stéphane Courbit has created new opportunities for Banijay to grow and maintain its resilient position in the market. Aligning us with gold standard ESG and business excellence targets, the listing further strengthens our offering and we are all proud of the efforts of Courbit’s wider LOV Group team in reaching this momentous milestone,” added Marco Bassetti, CEO of Banijay.
The Banijay Group is the world’s largest independent content production company, operating over 120 production companies across 22 countries. It produces both scripted and non-scripted content across all genres, including reality shows, entertainment and talk shows, game shows, factual entertainment, documentary, drama, animation and comedy. The company is the production house behind global television hits such as "The Voice," "Black Mirror," "Survivor" and "MasterChef," among many others.