AXA IM Alts, the alternative investment arm of global insurance company Axa, has struck a deal to acquire and expand France’s Bry-sur-Marnes Studios on the outskirts of Paris.

The future of the 12-hectare facility, which has previously hosted the shoots Marie Antoinette, Hunger Games as well as Astérix And Obélix: The Middle Kingdom, has been in question for some time.

The facility currently provides 62,300 square feet (5,600 sqm) of studio space across eight stages, in addition to production accommodation of 215,278 square feet (20,000 sqm).

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The studios will be managed by Guillaume de Menthon who was the president of Telfrance, one of France’s leading fiction production groups.

AXA IM Alts said in a statement that it was planning a significant development programme across the site which will more than double the production capacity.

“This was a rare opportunity to acquire one of the largest studios in France, close to Paris’ city centre, with good infrastructure and the option to extend the premises to meet rapidly growing demand,” John O’Driscoll, global co-head of real estate AXA IM Alts said in a statement.

“The investment also aligns with our purpose to deliver long-term value to clients; consolidated sites such as Bry-sur-Marne, which can house the entire content production ecosystem, are essential in accelerating the decarbonisation of the film industry. We have ambitions to significantly scale our studios real estate platform.”

According to the Financial Times, which first reported the acquisition, Axa acquired the site from developer Nexity in a deal worth ($160 million) €150 million.

The end goal is to transform the site into one of the biggest studios in Europe which eventually rival the large facilities in the U.K. and Germany.

The transaction represents AXA IM Alts’ first operation in the studio sector, which has been experiencing a period of growth on the back of the streamer-led content boom.

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