Banijay buys Endemol Shine to create a giant of global production

A colossal 2 billion dollar business that concentrates the world of format entertainment in one pole (the French Banijay group). After a year of rumors, rumors and proofs of agreement the official arrived: Banijay Group, led worldwide by CEO Marco Bassetti, finalized the acquisition of Endemol Shine. This is an operation that is worth almost 3 billion dollars in revenues a year thanks to the production of formats ranging from reality shows to quizzes, from talk shows to fiction.

To give an idea of ​​the entertainment giant that is being created, it is enough to say that Banijay produces programs such as Temptation Island is The island of the famous, while Endemol Shine holds the rights to blockbuster productions such as Big Brother is MasterChef and supports the schedule of almost all Italian TV with programs ranging from Your business (Flavio Insinna) a Such and which Show (Carlo Conti), from Next another! (Bonolis) a Usual unknown (Amadeus), from Free fall (Gerry Scotti) a What's the weather like (Fabio Fazio). Another fact to understand the epochal turning point: at this point all Rai1 day time outdoor products will be produced by a single production company.

The acquisition includes the 120 Endemol Shine production labels with an estimated 66 thousand hours of programming, along with over 4,300 recorded formats. The addition of these assets will place Banijay Group at the forefront of content production and distribution because upon completion of the operation Banijay will own nearly 200 production companies in 23 countries and will hold the rights for almost 100 thousand hours of content. The purchase of Endemol Shine – which is jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company and funds managed by affiliated companies of Apollo Global Management – marks the birth of the largest European production center, which for the first time has dimensions capable of competing with the American television studios. The acquisition will be financed through a capital increase of the Banijay Group and a commitment of committed debt, which includes a complete refinancing of the Banijay and Endemol Shine debt, supported by Deutsche Bank, Natixis and Socit Gnrale.

After the closure, the combined group will be held by LDH (67.1%) and Vivendi (32.9%). Ldh is the holding company controlled by Financire Lov (52%), the investment company of the French media entrepreneur Stphane Courbit, and has among other shareholders the Italian group De Agostini with 36% of the capital and Fimalac, the investment company of Marc Ladreit de Lacharrire, who will detain 12% of the capital through a reserved capital increase. Marco Bassetti, already head of Endemol Group before arriving at the head of the Banijay group born in 2008, comments on the agreement: Endemol Shine offers an incredible range of industry-leading talents, world-renowned brands and high-quality creative content . The combination of the resources of these two companies instantly strengthens our position in the global market. Our skills in various genres will further define us as a reference provider of first-class intellectual property worldwide.