Endemol Shine which makes hit TV shows including Big Brother, Peaky Blinders and Masterchef is set to be bought by French firm Banijay in £1.7bn takeover deal
- Paris-based TV giant Banijay is set to finalise a deal in the next couple of days
- Endemol Shine has been hit with debt amid competition from streaming boom
- It is currently co-owned by Disney and US company Apollo Global Management
The television production company behind Benidorm, Peaky Blinders and Masterchef is poised to be sold to a French firm for £1.7billion.
Endemol Shine makes some of Britain’s best known shows but has been saddled with hefty debts amid fierce competition from the likes of Netflix and Amazon.
Its reportedly imminent takeover by Paris-based TV giant Banijay casts doubt over the future of some of the nation’s most-watched programmes.
Endemol Shine, the television production company behind Peaky Blinders (pictured) is poised to be sold to a French firm for £1.7billion
Paris-based TV giant Banijay is set to finalise a deal for the company behind Would I Lie To You in the next few days
Current co-owners Disney and Apollo Global Management are expected to sell their stakes in Endemol Shine in the next few days, according to sources quoted by the Daily Telegraph.
Endemol Shine was forged in 2014 with the merger of Apollo-owned Endemol and Shine, which was established by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of media mogul Rupert.
Gripping story lines from the likes of Broadchurch and Gunpowder have hooked the nation, and comedy shows such as Benidorm and Would I Lie To You continue to make us laugh.
But in a crowded market place which is being squeezed by streaming media platforms, Endemol Shine is seen to place too much weight on out-of-date reality TV, such as the recently axed Big Brother.
And it has reportedly racked up debts estimated to be over £1.5billion.
Potential buyers were initially deterred by Endemol Shine’s reported asking price because it’s seen to place too much weight on out-of-date reality TV, such as the recently axed Big Brother (host Emma Willis pictured)
The deal for the Anglo-Dutch company, which produces shows for all of the UK’s mainstream broadcasters, is expected to fall well short of the initially speculated £3.5billion.
Although it is headquartered in France, Banijay also boasts an impressive catalogue of UK shows including The Crystal Maze, Shipwrecked and Embarrassing Bodies.
Disney only became co-owners earlier this year when they bought Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox’s 50 per cent stake in Endemol Shine.
Endemol Shine produces shows for all the UK’s main broadcasters including Channel 4, which commissioned the long-running gameshow Deal Or No Deal
When Disney and US private equity company Apollo Global Management indicated they were prepared to sell Endemol Shine, both ITV and Fleabag producer All3Media were linked as potential buyers.
But they, along with other interested parties, backed off at the auction stage when a £3-4billion asking price was revealed.
Now, agreement on a much lower offer is close to being finalised by Banijay chief executive Marco Bassetti who is a former director of Endemol Shine.
Gripping story lines from the likes of Broadchurch and Gunpowder have hooked the nation, and comedy shows such as Benidorm and 8 Out Of Ten Cats Does Countdown (pictured) continue to make us laugh
Source: Read Full Article