Leonine Studios acquires Hyperbole Media

Leonine Holding is acquiring Berlin-based Hyperbole Medien, effective June 1, 2022. Hyperbole is a renowned production company with a focus on socially relevant entertainment of high credibility and a provocative mix of politics and pop culture that resonates with the generations Y & Z. Its productions include the series "Germania" (ZDF), which won the Grimme Award and the Golden Camera Digital Award and was also published as a book last year, as well as the highly acclaimed political entertainment format "13 Fragen" (ZDFneo). Hyperbole also drives one of Germany's widest-reaching political journalism YouTube channels titled "Die Da Oben" (SWR/Funk).

As a result of the acquisition, Hyperbole will become part of the Leonine Production segment and remain an independent company and brand within this area. The previous shareholder and Managing Director, Bastian Asdonk, will continue to be the company's Managing Director. At his side, Christian Meinberger, Chief Digital Officer of Leonine Studios, will join the Hyperbole management team on June 1, 2022. Meinberger manages the creative exchange for digital format development within all production companies belonging to Leonine Studios and realizes synergies in the production area.

With the acquisition of Hyperbole, Leonine Studios is expanding the digital area within its production segment. Hyperbole maintains extensive customer relationships with public broadcasters such as ZDF, ZDFneo, zdf.kultur, NDR, SWR and MDR. In addition, Hyperbole's customer base also includes numerous brands such as Sony Music, Red Bull, and New Balance. "Hyperbole's development and formats have impressed us for some time now. The company is characterized by a clear profile, a feel for the zeitgeist, and a successful mix of innovative and journalistically high-quality formats. Hyperbole's creative team is an excellent fit for us. Together we will complement our existing IPs with new formats and expand the cross-media reach of our content. In this way, we're broadening the growth potential for our digital production area for the long term," Fred Kogel commented.

Bastian Asdonk, Managing Director of Hyperbole Medien, has added: "We could not have wished for a better partner for further development than LEONINE Studios. Their excellent productions stand for quality on all platforms and the overall set-up of the group is an innovative and far-sighted model. We are very much looking forward to working with outstanding creatives and bold management."

The Leonine Production segment now includes the production brands Hyperbole, i&u TV, Madame Zheng Production, Odeon Fiction, SEO Entertainment, W&B Television, and Wiedemann & Berg Film. Thus, Leonine Studios covers the entire spectrum of film, TV, and OTT production of scripted and non-scripted content in the premium sector in all genres and distribution channels. "I am delighted that LEONINE is complementing its digital portfolio with the acquisition of Hyperbole, a progressive production company with award-winning journalistic formats and channels. The affiliation with LEONINE will open up further growth perspectives for Hyperbole - for example, through access to our broad talent network. Together with Bastian Asdonk's team, I look forward to driving the development and continuing Hyperbole's success," Christian Meinberger, Chief Digital Officer of LEONINE Studios, stated.