French media giant Banijay Group, the parent of Northern labels including Manchester indie Workerbee and Glasgow non-fiction specialist IWC Media and maker of Deal or No Deal and Masterchef, and UK-based All3Media, owned by investment firm RedBird IMI and parent of Liverpool Hollyoaks maker Lime Pictures and Leeds’ Wise Owl Films have confirmed the “mega-merger” of the two companies’ production businesses, first reported in January and collectively responsible for some of TV’s biggest properties, including Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Gogglebox and MasterChef.
The merger will create one of Europe’s largest multimedia production groups, the companies said on Tuesday.
Banijay is also the producer of TV drama Peaky Blinders and the Big Brother franchise, while All3Media’s productions include The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge.
The combined entity would have generated 2024 combined pro forma revenues exceeding 4.4 billion euros, the companies said last night.
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“In this industry, size matters enormously, and with the development of artificial intelligence, the ownership and exploitation of intellectual property are becoming an even more crucial factor,” Banijay CEO François Riahi said in a press call.
The deal will strengthen Banijay’s leading position in global content, he said, and will keep it well positioned as the streaming market consolidated, led by Warner Bros Discovery protracted agreement to be acquired by Paramount Skydance last month.
“Scale is a very important factor for growth,” he added, noting that Paramount winning the race to buy Warner Bros over rival suitor Netflix was a good outcome for Banijay because it would create a powerful competitor to the latter.
“We were already the number one provider for global streaming platforms, but the streamers are growing and we are also growing with this deal, and we remain very relevant,” he said.
The transaction is expected to close by the Autumn of 2026, with Banijay chief executive Marco Bassetti set to lead the new company. RedBird IMI will roll-over its entire stake in All3Media into the new combined entity, while both parties will hold 50% of the combined entity, which will retain the Banijay name.
