Masterchef and Deal or No Deal franchise producer Banijay Group, the parent of Northern labels including Manchester indie Workerbee and Glasgow non-fiction specialist IWC Media, has said it is in talks with Redbird IMI, owner of The Traitors and Gogglebox producer All3Media, itself the owner of Liverpool Hollyoaks maker Lime Pictures and Leeds’ Wise Owl Films, about a potential merger.
The talks, first reported by Reuters, have centred on Banijay’s Entertainment & Live unit and All3Media combining their TV production businesses, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Banijay said on Tuesday it had “entered into discussions with the All3Media owner regarding a potential combination between Banijay and All3Media,” adding that no decision had been taken, and that there was no assurance that a transaction would be concluded.
A merger would create one of Europe’s largest production groups, with a slate of shows including “Survivor”, “Peaky Blinders” and “Race Across the World”.
All3Media and its owner RedBird IMI have so far declined to comment.
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Both companies have sought potential tie-ups with other producers in recent years, sources have previously told Reuters, as legacy TV and film production firms build scale against the growing dominance of streaming giants Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
A potential deal would likely include All3Media and owner RedBird IMI injecting funds into the combined entity, as they represent the smaller of the two sides, one of the sources said.
Talks began towards the end of last year after Amsterdam-listed Banijay dropped its pursuit of Britain’s ITV Studios, and are now at an advanced stage, the sources told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The emerging joint entity would have around 5.7 billion euros ($6.65 billion) in revenue, based on 2024 numbers published by the companies. Banijay has a current market capitalisation of around 3.5bn euros.
All3Media and Banijay have also discussed combinations with ITV’s studio business, according to previous reports. ITV has since started talks to sell its broadcast division to Comcast-owned Sky, a deal that if agreed would leave a standalone ITV Studios unit.
Banijay explored a binding offer to buy All3Media in 2023 from its then joint owners Liberty Global and Warner Bros Discovery, Reuters reported at the time.
RedBird IMI, led by former CNN executive Jeff Zucker and backed by Emirati royal and Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, went on to buy All3Media for 1.15 billion pounds ($1.55 billion) in 2024.
RedBird Capital, RedBird IMI’s U.S.-based partner, is also backing Paramount Skydance’s $108.4bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery.
