Six years after buying out Endemol Shine in the thick of the pandemic, Banijay (“Big Brother,” “Peaky Blinders”) has struck a merger deal with All3Media (“The Traitors”) to form an even bigger production powerhouse.
The new company will be called Banijay and will be jointly owned by Banijay Group and Redbird IMI, which purchased All3Media in 2024, with each holding a 50% stake. The transaction is expected to close by the fall, after which Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti will serve as CEO of the newly formed group and All3Media CEO Jane Turton will become deputy CEO. Jeff Zucker, CEO of RedBird IMI, will become chairman of the board.
The joint entity will have around $6.65 billion in combined revenues based on 2024 figures, allowing the banner to build significant scale in an increasingly consolidated market.
“Since its inception, Banijay has been driven by entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity. In the next phase of our journey, this DNA remains integral to our commitment to building a media and entertainment company that can stand its own, and the test of time, on the global stage,” Bassetti said in a statement. “One that can attract and retain the best talent, one that has the means to truly invest in ideation and building the franchises and live events of tomorrow and one that can lead the way on adopting new technologies, new platforms and new routes to audiences — a truly diversified media and entertainment powerhouse.”
Added All3Media’s Turton: “All3Media has grown from a start-up in 2003 to a globally successful creative business. First and foremost, we are a group where creative and commercial excellence go hand in hand. We celebrate talent and believe in collaboration, ambition and innovation in creating and producing both stunning programmes and delivering impressive financial returns. I am looking forward to working with Marco as All3Media and Banijay embark on this next exciting phase.”
Banijay, which is owned by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, has over 130 production companies in 25 territories. All3Media, which was bought by RedBird IMI in May 2024 for £1.15 billion following a deal with Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global, operates more than 40 labels and has a large presence in the U.K., U.S. and Germany, among other key markets.
All3Media’s company portfolio includes Studio Lambert, which produces “Squid Game: The Challenge” and “The Traitors,” as well as Two Brothers (“The Tourist”) and Neal Street, which is making the Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony. Banijay Entertainment, meanwhile, is behind “MasterChef,” “Big Brother,” “Survivor,” “Black Mirror,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Deal or No Deal” and the “Culpa” trilogy.
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The combined banner will also boast one of the world’s biggest libraries, with Banijay Rights’ 220,000 hours, and All3Media International clocking around 35,000 hours.
Under Bassetti’s leadership since 2013, Banijay has diversified its activities in live entertainment through labels Balich Wonder Studio (which notably produced by the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Milan Cortina) and the Independents.
Back in October, Bassetti told Variety, “The M&A market is not a priority for us today. We are happy where we are, and I believe that we have the right size and the right people in charge.” The tight-lipped Italian executive may have changed his mind due to the ongoing market consolidation, as well as the necessity to build scale and leverage to deal with fewer streamers and broadcasters.
The year kicked off with Mediawan acquiring Peter Chernin’s North Road, and David Ellison’s Paramount buying Warner Bros. for $110 billion (and announcing that HBO Max and Paramount+ will be merged into one streaming service). ITV, meanwhile, opened talks at the end last year to sell its media and entertainment unit to Comcast-owned pay-TV group Sky for $2.18 billion — although Reuters reported last month that discussions have “slowed in recent weeks.”
From Variety US