RedBird IMI has agreed to acquire television production and distribution company All3Media from its joint owners, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., and Liberty Global Ltd. for £1.15 Billion. Jeff Zucker, CEO of RedBird IMI, will become the chairman of the All3Media board. Jane Turton (CEO) and Sara Geater (COO) will continue to lead the company for RedBird IMI. This is the fifth investment for RedBird IMI and its largest to date.
"All3Media is one of the world's great content companies, and this gives us an incredible platform to continue to grow our expanding portfolio," said Jeff Zucker, the CEO of RedBird IMI. "The demand for new shows and ongoing existing series, both scripted and unscripted, makes All3 a perfect fit for us. And we would not be doing this if not for the tremendous confidence we have in the outstanding All3Media management team led by Jane and Sara."
"Acquiring All3 is an extension of our investment thesis around pure play global content creators and owners of intellectual property," said Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird. "We look forward to partnering with All3's management team to continue accelerating their growth in Europe and the US and capitalizing on RedBird's ecosystem in support of that goal."
Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media, said: "Joining forces with Jeff and the RedBird IMI team is an exciting next step for us as we continue to build All3Media. Our strategy remains to work with the world's best talent, developing and producing high-quality, popular programs. RedBird IMI's support and investment will be key in helping us deliver this. I am very proud of all that we have built over the past few years, and I am looking forward to working with the RedBird IMI team as we take this important next step."
"All3Media has gone from strength to strength during our period of joint ownership with WBD, both financially and creatively," Andrea Salvato, Chief Development Officer, Liberty Global, said. "We look forward to seeing the company continue to prosper, led by Jane and the team, as part of RedBird IMI. The sale continues our strategy of recycling capital in our ventures portfolio."
"We are incredibly proud of what All3Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Liberty Global have built together over the past decade, and given RedBird IMI's strong commitment to creative excellence, we are confident they are best suited to shepherd this world-class production studio into its next phase and can't wait to see all that's ahead," said Bruce Campbell, Warner Bros. Discovery's Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer.
All3Media, based in London, has 50 production labels, including Studio Lambert, Raw, Two Brothers Pictures, Silverback Films, New Pictures, and Neal Street Productions, producing global shows such as "The Traitors," "Squid Game: The Challenge," "Gold Rush", "Midsomer Murders," "American Nightmare," "The Circle," "Call the Midwife," "The Tourist," "Life On Our Planet," "The Long Shadow" and "Gogglebox." All3Media's library includes contemporary thrillers, detective series, soap operas, comedy, costume drama, and true crime, as well as documentaries, features, children's, and reality programming. The Group's companies have a global presence across the UK, U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and New Zealand and produce 4,000 hours annually for linear broadcasters, VOD, social media, and other digital platforms. All3Media International operates a distribution catalog of over 30,000 hours, while the Group's digital business, Little Dot Studios, drives audiences in social video, podcast, and branded content across multiple platforms.
RedBird IMI is a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments focused on building high-growth companies in media, entertainment, and sports. It launched over one year ago with the goal of building a global media company across news, entertainment, and sports. Its investments include the scripted production company Media Res, the unscripted production company EverWonder Studios, the children's entertainment company Hidden Pigeon Company, and the digital outlet Front Office Sports.