Banijay Italy Acquires Scripted Outfit Grøenlandia Group

Banijay Italy has announced that Grøenlandia Group, the Italian scripted production company founded by Matteo Rovere and Sydney Sibilia, will now form part of the company. “Banijay has made no secret of its ambitions to increase its foothold in the premium scripted space and by welcoming Grøenlandia we are making a significant move in widening our capacity to deliver high-end TV as well as feature-length films," Marco Bassetti, Banijay CEO, said.

The company, which produces films for cinema, television and streamers and also creates TV series, will now sit in the Banijay Italy group of companies. Financial terms of the deal and the size of the stake taken by Banijay were not disclosed. Founded in 2014, Grøenlandia’s film credits include "Romulus & Remus: The First King" (Il Primo Re) by Matteo Rovere and "The Champion" by Leonardo D’Agostini. It is also behind TV shows "Romulus" and "Carosone," the biopic of musician Renato Carosone.

“Grøenlandia continues its adventure by joining the Banijay group, a world giant of independent production and distribution with an Italian heart, both in the management and in the shareholding; characteristics that are fundamental for us in making a choice that I hope will give us new working tools and relationships with colleagues from many countries who, like us, do their best to reach audiences around the world," Matteo Rovere, CEO of Grøenlandia Group said.

The scripted deal is the latest for Banijay, which recently sealed a partnership with award-winning French producer, Alain Goldman via his production entities, Pitchipoï Productions and Montmartre Films. Grøenlandia also has a majority stake in Ascent Films, founded and managed by Andrea Paris, which will keep operating in the group. Ascent Films is a producer of theatrical releases, short films and documentaries, with a focus on identifying and establishing new talent. “We want to give even more strength to our ideas, but also to maintain our established objectives, including the discovery of young talent, the centrality of the theatre, linguistic innovation, inclusiveness and sustainable productions," Rovere said.