(Reuters) -Jeff Zucker-led investment group RedBird IMI has struck a 1.15 billion pound ($1.45 billion) deal to buy Britain’s All3Media, the production house behind hit TV shows “Fleabag” and “Squid Game: The Challenge”, RedBird IMI said on Friday.
All3Media, whose film and TV production companies are based in Britain, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and New Zealand, has been jointly owned by Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global since 2014. The companies bought the firm for 550 million pounds.
RedBird IMI, launched just over a year ago, is led by former CNN executive Zucker and backed by Emirati royal Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who also owns soccer club Manchester City.
The group, which has been on an investment spree in recent months, agreed to buy Britain’s Telegraph newspaper and Spectator magazine late last year in a deal currently under regulatory review.
The All3Media deal is its fifth acquisition and the largest so far, RedBird IMI said.
Zucker, CEO of RedBird IMI, will become chair of the All3Media board, while CEO Jane Turton and Chief Operating Officer Sara Geater will continue to lead the company.
“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 IMI.
The acquisition comes at a time when broadcasters are cutting their spending on new shows amid a slump in advertising revenues and the lingering effects of the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes from last year.
All3Media made about 1.02 billion pounds in revenues for 2022.
The deal was first reported by the Financial Times.
($1 = 0.7951 pounds)
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in BengaluruEditing by Shailesh Kuber and Mark Potter)
