Pierre-Antoine Capton, Chairman of the Board of Mediawan
Mediawan, one of the main independent content studios in Europe, announced the completion of the acquisition of Lagardère Studios, a key player in the creation, production, distribution and management of audiovisual content in Europe. Exclusive negotiations had been announced on June 22, 2020, and a binding agreement was signed with Groupe Lagardère on August 6, 2020. Then, the acquisition received an Antitrust approval on September 21, 2020.
As the terms of the acquisition agreement allowed, Mediawan has issued 1,615,785 new shares in remuneration for the contribution in kind of Lagardère Studios shares. The remaining share of the purchase price has been financed predominantly by the use of €30 million undrawn credit facilities of and by a €20 million shareholder loan from Mediawan Alliance.
Lagardère Studios is one of the key independent players in content production and distribution in Europe, with a presence in France, Spain (Grupo Boomerang), Finland (Aito Media) and the Netherlands (Skyhigh TV), but also in Africa (Keewu in Senegal), and enjoys relationships with broadcasters in each of these countries.
The integration of Lagardère Studios further reinforces Mediawan’s production capacity through strong brands in France and Spain, and increases its geographical presence in Europe with the Netherlands (Skyhigh TV), Finland (Aito Media), but also Africa (Keewu). Lagardère Studios also enhances Mediawan’s production business with unscripted productions, in addition to its historical business of drama, cinema, documentary and animation.
“We are particularly proud today to be able to count on the many talents which form Lagardère Studios, and explore with them the many development opportunities which are offered to us everywhere in Europe, in all genres: drama, documentary and unscripted,” said Pierre-Antoine Capton, Chairman of the Board of Mediawan.
Related News
