STV Studios and Greenbird Media have agreed upon a major acquisition deal to bring Greenbird’s network of 15 independent production companies into the STV Studios family of labels for an initial cash consideration of £21.4 million.
Greenbird founders Jamie Munro and Stuart Mullin will join the STV Studios board in the roles of Chief Commercial Officer and Finance & Integration Director, respectively, working alongside Chief Operating Officer Paul Sheehan and under the leadership of Managing Director David Mortimer. The merged STV Studios business will be materially earnings-enhancing from day one and is funded by STV Group’s existing financial resources.
The deal boosts the number of labels within STV Studios from nine to 24. It will create an unrivaled network of senior creative leaders and a significantly expanded forward pipeline of new program ideas, several of which have already been greenlit for 2024. As a result of the acquisition, STV Studios now has expanded bases in Glasgow and London, as well as offices in Cardiff, Belfast, Brighton, and Manchester, strengthening its ability to take advantage of the continuing growth of production in the nations and regions.
The new combined business will pursue an international growth strategy, working with the producers to generate maximum value from their shows outside the UK, for example, building on Tuesday’s Child’s continued international success with formats like "LEGO Masters" in 20 territories, including UK and US and STV Studios’ success with "Bridge of Lies" in 16 territories, including UK and Spain.
Since its formation in 2012, Greenbird has built the largest independently-owned network of high-quality producers in the UK, with an archive of 2,000+ hours of content. This year, companies within the Greenbird network – now part of STV Studios – will produce over 350 hours of new programming across 25 returning series. Some of the hit shows made by the producers in Greenbird’s network include "LEGO Masters" by Tuesday’s Child for Channel 4/FOX and "The Hit List" by Tuesday’s Child for BBC One, BAFTA-winning The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan Rumpus Media for BBC Two and "Late Night Lycett" by Rumpus Media for Channel 4, NTA-winning "Kate Garraway: Caring for Derek" by Flicker for ITV1, and "Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing" byOwl Power for BBC Two.