Jennifer Mullin (Fremantle) and Gabriel Catrina (NENT Studios)
Fremantle has entered into a sale agreement for the purchase of 12 NENT Studios production labels in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark that operate across non-scripted, scripted and factual businesses. The purchase will see the 12 distinct labels, across the three content pillars of entertainment, scripted and documentaries, plus branded content and event management, join the Fremantle group. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close later this year.
In detail, the companies that are part of the sale agreement are: Strong Productions (Denmark); Grillifilms, Moskito Television and Production House (Finland); Monster, Novemberfilm, One Big Happy Family, Playroom, Rakett and Strix TV (Norway); Baluba and Strix Television (Sweden).
Fremantle already produces in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, both as Fremantle and through Miso Films, producers of “The Investigation,” “The Rain” and “Those Who Kill,” and through Blu, who deliver a varied cross genre slate, including “X Factor” and “Farmer Seeking Love”.
“This is an exciting opportunity both to grow our presence in the Nordics and embrace a wealth of exceptional new talent into the Fremantle family. Nordic IP is hugely successful internationally, and with our ability to amplify distribution on a global level, I am confident we will be able to take the great content produced by these labels to an even wider audience,” said Jennifer Mullin, CEO of Fremantle.
Gabriel Catrina, EVP & Chief Financial Officer at NENT Group, added: “We are confident that Fremantle’s global reach will create many opportunities for these fine businesses. This agreement concludes the divestments of all the Studios assets that we had planned for. Our remaining Studios assets will now focus primarily on delivering scripted content exclusively for Viaplay”.