It’s little wonder why French president Emmanuel Macron was visibly moved as he inducted Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton into France’s Legion of Honor last October, calling the exec “the ultimate French success story.”
In a country rarely known to promote social mobility, Capton-esque career trajectories are scarce. A self-made entrepreneur born into a middle-class Normandy family, Capton began his professional life as a teen with an entry-level internship, eschewing elite universities, making the exec a rare bird among France’s top media execs. For all that, Capton remains more humble than flamboyant, letting his track record speak for itself.
In 2015, he co-founded Mediawan with investment banker Matthieu Pigasse and telecom billionaire Xavier Niel, and since then the group has traversed a tumultuous period marked by a pandemic, strikes and economic recessions by growing stronger.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Pierre-Antoine Capton.
Following its recent acquisition of German...
In a country rarely known to promote social mobility, Capton-esque career trajectories are scarce. A self-made entrepreneur born into a middle-class Normandy family, Capton began his professional life as a teen with an entry-level internship, eschewing elite universities, making the exec a rare bird among France’s top media execs. For all that, Capton remains more humble than flamboyant, letting his track record speak for itself.
In 2015, he co-founded Mediawan with investment banker Matthieu Pigasse and telecom billionaire Xavier Niel, and since then the group has traversed a tumultuous period marked by a pandemic, strikes and economic recessions by growing stronger.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Pierre-Antoine Capton.
Following its recent acquisition of German...
- 5/16/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
France’s Mediawan has acquired German group Leonine Studios.
The all-stock transaction creates a European-based production and distribution group with a presence across 13 countries, 85 labels and revenues over €1bn. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
Paris-based Mediawan has had a 25% stake in Munich-based Leonine since 2020, and both groups are backed by US private equity firm Kkr. Mediawan was reported to be weighing an acquisition of Leonine back in November 2023.
For Mediawan the deal bolsters its European footprint with the addition of the German-speaking market.
Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton will continue to lead the group while Leonine CEO...
The all-stock transaction creates a European-based production and distribution group with a presence across 13 countries, 85 labels and revenues over €1bn. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
Paris-based Mediawan has had a 25% stake in Munich-based Leonine since 2020, and both groups are backed by US private equity firm Kkr. Mediawan was reported to be weighing an acquisition of Leonine back in November 2023.
For Mediawan the deal bolsters its European footprint with the addition of the German-speaking market.
Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton will continue to lead the group while Leonine CEO...
- 4/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
French studio Mediawan and Germany’s Leonine have signed a deal to merge their operation, forming one of Europe’s biggest film and TV companies.
The all-stock transaction, announced Sunday, will create a mini-major with companies and operations across 13 countries and annual revenues of more than €1 billion ($1.06 billion). Mediawan took a 25 percent stake in Leonine back in 2020. Both companies are backed by private equity group Kkr. The agreement is conditional on regulatory approval.
Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton will be CEO of the new, merged group, with Leonine head Fred Kogel leading operations in German-speaking territories. Kogel will also join Mediawan’s executive committee.
Both Mediawan, launched in 2015 by Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, and Leonine, which Kogel founded in 2019, have followed similar strategies of tapping private equity funding to buy up independent production and distribution companies in Europe. Among the titles produced by Mediawan-owned labels include Netflix hit Call My Agent,...
The all-stock transaction, announced Sunday, will create a mini-major with companies and operations across 13 countries and annual revenues of more than €1 billion ($1.06 billion). Mediawan took a 25 percent stake in Leonine back in 2020. Both companies are backed by private equity group Kkr. The agreement is conditional on regulatory approval.
Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton will be CEO of the new, merged group, with Leonine head Fred Kogel leading operations in German-speaking territories. Kogel will also join Mediawan’s executive committee.
Both Mediawan, launched in 2015 by Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, and Leonine, which Kogel founded in 2019, have followed similar strategies of tapping private equity funding to buy up independent production and distribution companies in Europe. Among the titles produced by Mediawan-owned labels include Netflix hit Call My Agent,...
- 4/28/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
European powerhouse Mediawan has acquired Leonine, a leading production and distribution group active in German-speaking markets.
With the acquisition of Leonine, Mediawan will boast a portfolio of 85 labels, a catalogue spanning 30,000 hours of premium content and revenues exceeding €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion). Mediawan’s worth is now believed to be in the $2-billion range. The deal is an all-stock transaction; both companies have the same shareholder, the U.S. private equity fund Kkr whose stake in Mediawan will still be below 50%, according to a source close to the company.
Mediawan now has a significant footprint in all major European markets, including German-speaking territories which represent the continent’s second largest TV market. The pact positions Mediawan as one of the world’s biggest super indies with a large proportion of scripted business across prestige series and movies. Mediawan now spans 13 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux and the U.K.
With the acquisition of Leonine, Mediawan will boast a portfolio of 85 labels, a catalogue spanning 30,000 hours of premium content and revenues exceeding €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion). Mediawan’s worth is now believed to be in the $2-billion range. The deal is an all-stock transaction; both companies have the same shareholder, the U.S. private equity fund Kkr whose stake in Mediawan will still be below 50%, according to a source close to the company.
Mediawan now has a significant footprint in all major European markets, including German-speaking territories which represent the continent’s second largest TV market. The pact positions Mediawan as one of the world’s biggest super indies with a large proportion of scripted business across prestige series and movies. Mediawan now spans 13 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux and the U.K.
- 4/28/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Pierre-Antoine Capton, the co-founder and CEO of Mediawan, was named Knight of the Legion of Honor by French President Emmanuel Macron during a ceremony held at the Elysée Palace in Paris.
Capton was honored alongside other French figures who have made outstanding contributions to the country’s cultural landscape, including the filmmaker Costa Gavras, actor and novelist Marlène Jobert, contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, historian Pierre Nora, choreographer Claude Bessy, journalist Jean-Claude Narcy and conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus.
A former indie TV producer who rose through the ranks, Capton co-founded Mediawan with telco billionaire Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse in 2015 and has turned it into an international powerhouse with a raft of strategic acquisitions, including France’s Ab Productions, the U.K.’s Drama Republic, Italy’s Palomar and Brad Pitt’s Plan B. The company, which is backed by Kkr and recently signed a €100m TV development deal with Entourage Ventures,...
Capton was honored alongside other French figures who have made outstanding contributions to the country’s cultural landscape, including the filmmaker Costa Gavras, actor and novelist Marlène Jobert, contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, historian Pierre Nora, choreographer Claude Bessy, journalist Jean-Claude Narcy and conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus.
A former indie TV producer who rose through the ranks, Capton co-founded Mediawan with telco billionaire Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse in 2015 and has turned it into an international powerhouse with a raft of strategic acquisitions, including France’s Ab Productions, the U.K.’s Drama Republic, Italy’s Palomar and Brad Pitt’s Plan B. The company, which is backed by Kkr and recently signed a €100m TV development deal with Entourage Ventures,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Burgeoning Paris-based film and TV content group Mediawan has acquired a majority stake in French production company 24 25 Films.
Led by co-founding producers Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber, the company has a proven track record in producing mainstream box office hits in France.
Successes include Yann Gozlan’s 2021 Pierre Niney-starring mystery thriller Black Box, which grossed $9.4 million at the French box office, as well as the director’s previous film A Perfect Man.
Further productions include Thomas Kruithof’s political drama Promises as well as the award-winning comedy In The Game by Robin Sykes.
Its new action-comedy Cash by Jérémie Rozan, starring Raphaël Quenard, Agathe Rousselle and Igor Gotesman, has been in the number one slot on Netflix in France, since its launch on the platform on July 6.
24 25 Films joins a growing number of successful cinema-skewed companies operating under the Mediawan banner including Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Brad Pitt’s Plan B,...
Led by co-founding producers Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber, the company has a proven track record in producing mainstream box office hits in France.
Successes include Yann Gozlan’s 2021 Pierre Niney-starring mystery thriller Black Box, which grossed $9.4 million at the French box office, as well as the director’s previous film A Perfect Man.
Further productions include Thomas Kruithof’s political drama Promises as well as the award-winning comedy In The Game by Robin Sykes.
Its new action-comedy Cash by Jérémie Rozan, starring Raphaël Quenard, Agathe Rousselle and Igor Gotesman, has been in the number one slot on Netflix in France, since its launch on the platform on July 6.
24 25 Films joins a growing number of successful cinema-skewed companies operating under the Mediawan banner including Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Brad Pitt’s Plan B,...
- 7/12/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Mediawan has been shaking the foundations of the film and TV world in France and Europe since it was launched in 2015 by producer Pierre-Antoine Capton, billionaire entrepreneur Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse.
Raising an initial $342 million (300 million euros) by listing shares on the Euronext Paris stock exchange in 2016, the Paris-based group has since gathered some 70 film and TV production labels under its umbrella as well as secured the backing of U.S. investment firms Kkr and Atwater Capitol.
High-profile acquisitions have included the television division of Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp; Lagardère Studios and its 25 labels, including Spain’s Boomerang Group; French production houses Chapter 2, Chi-Fou-Mi, Radar Films and Call My Agent creator Mon Voisin Productions as well as Italian producer Palomar.
Elisabeth d’Arvieu
In 2021, it took a majority stake in the U.K.’s Drama Republic, while on the eve of Cannes, it bought Submarine, the Amsterdam and...
Raising an initial $342 million (300 million euros) by listing shares on the Euronext Paris stock exchange in 2016, the Paris-based group has since gathered some 70 film and TV production labels under its umbrella as well as secured the backing of U.S. investment firms Kkr and Atwater Capitol.
High-profile acquisitions have included the television division of Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp; Lagardère Studios and its 25 labels, including Spain’s Boomerang Group; French production houses Chapter 2, Chi-Fou-Mi, Radar Films and Call My Agent creator Mon Voisin Productions as well as Italian producer Palomar.
Elisabeth d’Arvieu
In 2021, it took a majority stake in the U.K.’s Drama Republic, while on the eve of Cannes, it bought Submarine, the Amsterdam and...
- 5/21/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
European production group Mediawan, which recently made headlines when it acquired a majority stake in Brad Pitt’s outfit Plan B Entertainment, has sealed another M&a deal, taking a majority stake in Submarine, the Dutch-based producers of Amazon Prime series Undone from Bojack Horseman creators Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob Waksberg.
Submarine’s credits also include “A Dream of a Thousand Cats,” an episode of Netflix and Warner Bros. Television’s The Sandman, Richard Linklater’s latest film Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (also on Netflix), and the Emmy Award-winning documentaries Last Hijack and Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World.
Among their upcoming projects are drama series The Kollective written by Gomorrah and ZeroZeroZero showrunner Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Rvaglia; and Safe Harbor a true-crime-inspired series by Ozark co-creator Mark Williams.
“We are delighted to welcome within Mediawan a team as creative and renowned as the Submarine team,...
Submarine’s credits also include “A Dream of a Thousand Cats,” an episode of Netflix and Warner Bros. Television’s The Sandman, Richard Linklater’s latest film Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (also on Netflix), and the Emmy Award-winning documentaries Last Hijack and Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World.
Among their upcoming projects are drama series The Kollective written by Gomorrah and ZeroZeroZero showrunner Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Rvaglia; and Safe Harbor a true-crime-inspired series by Ozark co-creator Mark Williams.
“We are delighted to welcome within Mediawan a team as creative and renowned as the Submarine team,...
- 4/17/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The trio behind Mediawan, the French company which recently acquired a majority stake in Brad Pitt’s Plan B, have made an offer to buy Cgr Cinema, France’s second biggest multiplex chain, Variety has confirmed.
The bid has been made by Pierre-Antoine Capton and French telecom tycoon Xavier Niel, the co-founders of Mediawan. Capton and Niel are being backed by a consortium which includes Matthieu Pigasse, a big-time financier who is the third co-founder of Mediawan, among others. The offer values Cgr Cinemas below €500 million ($300 million), according to a source closed to discussions.
The British fund Aermont Capital has also made an offer, according to the French news site “L’informé.”
Cgr Cinemas comprises 74 multiplexes and represented an estimated 12% market share of theatrical admissions in 2022, according to the Cnc.
Cgr Cinemas’s owners, Luc Raymond and Charles Raymond, put the exhibition chain on the market in 2021. Along with the exhibition part of the business,...
The bid has been made by Pierre-Antoine Capton and French telecom tycoon Xavier Niel, the co-founders of Mediawan. Capton and Niel are being backed by a consortium which includes Matthieu Pigasse, a big-time financier who is the third co-founder of Mediawan, among others. The offer values Cgr Cinemas below €500 million ($300 million), according to a source closed to discussions.
The British fund Aermont Capital has also made an offer, according to the French news site “L’informé.”
Cgr Cinemas comprises 74 multiplexes and represented an estimated 12% market share of theatrical admissions in 2022, according to the Cnc.
Cgr Cinemas’s owners, Luc Raymond and Charles Raymond, put the exhibition chain on the market in 2021. Along with the exhibition part of the business,...
- 3/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Companies aim to finance series with international potential.
France’s Mediawan Group has partnered with Paris-based investment firm Entourage Ventures on a €100 million fund to develop global series.
The aim of the agreement is to finance TV series with “strong international potential” over the next 4-6 years, according to a joint statement from the groups on Monday.
Under the deal, Mediawan Group’s distribution subsidiary Mediawan Rights will partner with Entourage to co-develop, co-produce and co-distribute series geared towards global audiences. Both financing and revenue will be shared 50/50 between the two partners with Mediawan handling distribution of the series and...
France’s Mediawan Group has partnered with Paris-based investment firm Entourage Ventures on a €100 million fund to develop global series.
The aim of the agreement is to finance TV series with “strong international potential” over the next 4-6 years, according to a joint statement from the groups on Monday.
Under the deal, Mediawan Group’s distribution subsidiary Mediawan Rights will partner with Entourage to co-develop, co-produce and co-distribute series geared towards global audiences. Both financing and revenue will be shared 50/50 between the two partners with Mediawan handling distribution of the series and...
- 2/6/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Companies aim to finance series with international potential.
France’s Mediawan Group has partnered with Paris-based investment firm Entourage Ventures on a €100 million fund to develop global series.
The aim of the agreement is to finance TV series with “strong international potential” over the next 4-6 years, according to a joint statement from the groups on Monday.
Under the deal, Mediawan Group’s distribution subsidiary Mediawan Rights will partner with Entourage to co-develop, co-produce and co-distribute series geared towards global audiences. Both financing and revenue will be shared 50/50 between the two partners with Mediawan handling distribution of the series and...
France’s Mediawan Group has partnered with Paris-based investment firm Entourage Ventures on a €100 million fund to develop global series.
The aim of the agreement is to finance TV series with “strong international potential” over the next 4-6 years, according to a joint statement from the groups on Monday.
Under the deal, Mediawan Group’s distribution subsidiary Mediawan Rights will partner with Entourage to co-develop, co-produce and co-distribute series geared towards global audiences. Both financing and revenue will be shared 50/50 between the two partners with Mediawan handling distribution of the series and...
- 2/6/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Mediawan CEO and co-founder Pierre-Antoine Capton has said his company’s acquisition of Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment in late December heralds an opportunity for all content creators in France and Europe to forge stronger links and footprints in the U.S.
“I’m very happy we did this deal with Brad Pitt. There are lots of French producers who have contacted me since and said, ‘It’s fantastic for the whole sector because you’re going to represent us and allow others to make it too’,” he said.
“It’s true. Today, we’re getting access a lot more easily,” he said.
Beyond expanding Paris-based Mediawan’s footprint into the U.S., the endgame of the acquisition was to give more access to French and European talents to international markets, through working with a production company of the calibre of Plan B, he explained.
“It will also require...
“I’m very happy we did this deal with Brad Pitt. There are lots of French producers who have contacted me since and said, ‘It’s fantastic for the whole sector because you’re going to represent us and allow others to make it too’,” he said.
“It’s true. Today, we’re getting access a lot more easily,” he said.
Beyond expanding Paris-based Mediawan’s footprint into the U.S., the endgame of the acquisition was to give more access to French and European talents to international markets, through working with a production company of the calibre of Plan B, he explained.
“It will also require...
- 1/10/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Brad Pitt’s Plan B may have a new owner in Mediawan. But Pierre-Antoine Capton, the head of the conglomerate behind “Call My Agent!,” says he plans to take a hands-off approach to overseeing the Oscar-winning company he just bought.
“Plan B will continue to operate independently with the same leadership,” Capton told Variety shortly after the deal closed.
That doesn’t mean Capton isn’t looking to change some things. He says Plan B’s new chapter will include more TV and collaborations with Europe. Capton, a well-connected TV producer who launched Mediawan in 2015 with telco billionaire Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse, began talks with Plan B a year ago and engineered the deal which is expected to formally close in January. Under the pact, Plan B was paid half in shares of Mediawan and half in cash. The deal values Plan B at about 300 million.
Mediawan had...
“Plan B will continue to operate independently with the same leadership,” Capton told Variety shortly after the deal closed.
That doesn’t mean Capton isn’t looking to change some things. He says Plan B’s new chapter will include more TV and collaborations with Europe. Capton, a well-connected TV producer who launched Mediawan in 2015 with telco billionaire Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse, began talks with Plan B a year ago and engineered the deal which is expected to formally close in January. Under the pact, Plan B was paid half in shares of Mediawan and half in cash. The deal values Plan B at about 300 million.
Mediawan had...
- 12/12/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The deal also see the launch of Mediawan US.
French media company Mediawan has taken a majority stake in Brad Pitt’s production house Plan B Entertainment as the group bolsters its English-language production efforts with new division Mediawan US.
Following speculation about the deal on Friday (December 9), Mediawan issued a statement confirming the news which said the two companies “have entered into a definitive agreement for Mediawan to buy a significant stake in Plan B”.
It added: “By joining forces with Plan B, Mediawan expands beyond its core European markets into the US.”
Mediawan CEO and co-founder Pierre-Antoine Capton,...
French media company Mediawan has taken a majority stake in Brad Pitt’s production house Plan B Entertainment as the group bolsters its English-language production efforts with new division Mediawan US.
Following speculation about the deal on Friday (December 9), Mediawan issued a statement confirming the news which said the two companies “have entered into a definitive agreement for Mediawan to buy a significant stake in Plan B”.
It added: “By joining forces with Plan B, Mediawan expands beyond its core European markets into the US.”
Mediawan CEO and co-founder Pierre-Antoine Capton,...
- 12/10/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
The global economy might be on the brink of shambles, but the celebrity-entertainment industrial complex shows no sign of slowing down. Big stars, who have already amassed fame and fortune in front of the camera, are increasingly securing generational wealth for their work behind the camera.
The latest move comes courtesy of Plan B Entertainment, the production company owned by actor Brad Pitt, which has been sold to French media conglomerate Mediawan, the companies announced Friday afternoon.
Mediawan said that it has acquired a majority stake in Plan B in a deal that reportedly values the studio in the low hundreds of millions of dollars. Pitt will retain a minority stake in the firm, which was behind films like She Said and Moonlight and TV shows like The Underground Railroad and The Oa. Mediawan backers Kkr, Atwater Capital, Bpifrance, MacSf, and Société Générale...
The global economy might be on the brink of shambles, but the celebrity-entertainment industrial complex shows no sign of slowing down. Big stars, who have already amassed fame and fortune in front of the camera, are increasingly securing generational wealth for their work behind the camera.
The latest move comes courtesy of Plan B Entertainment, the production company owned by actor Brad Pitt, which has been sold to French media conglomerate Mediawan, the companies announced Friday afternoon.
Mediawan said that it has acquired a majority stake in Plan B in a deal that reportedly values the studio in the low hundreds of millions of dollars. Pitt will retain a minority stake in the firm, which was behind films like She Said and Moonlight and TV shows like The Underground Railroad and The Oa. Mediawan backers Kkr, Atwater Capital, Bpifrance, MacSf, and Société Générale...
- 12/9/2022
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B Entertainment is selling a 60 percent majority stake to the French media giant Mediawan in a deal that values the film company behind “Moonlight” and “12 Years a Slave” in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The news was formally announced late Friday after news of the deal broke early Friday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but CNBC, which first reported the news, reported that Plan B is said to be worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars range but below 500 million.
Plan B first announced an intention to explore a sale of its assets or an investor back in October, and the sale is the latest example in a wave of M&a activity across Hollywood over the last few years. That’s included everything from the sale of Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to Candle Media to LeBron James...
The news was formally announced late Friday after news of the deal broke early Friday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but CNBC, which first reported the news, reported that Plan B is said to be worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars range but below 500 million.
Plan B first announced an intention to explore a sale of its assets or an investor back in October, and the sale is the latest example in a wave of M&a activity across Hollywood over the last few years. That’s included everything from the sale of Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to Candle Media to LeBron James...
- 12/9/2022
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment is on track to sell a majority stake to Mediawan, the pan-European media conglomerate. The deal is expected to close this weekend, Variety has confirmed.
Plan B Entertainment, which is run by Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner, hired Moelis & Co. to shop for a buyer or potential investors last month. The company was founded in 2001 by Pitt and Jennifer Aniston shortly after the pair married. Pitt eventually took over the banner after the two divorced in 2005. Its credits include “The Departed,” “Moonlight” and “12 Years a Slave,” all of which won the Oscar for best picture. The company recently produced “She Said,” a look at the journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, as well as “Blonde,” an off-beat drama about Marilyn Monroe.
Mediawan was founded in 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, telecom billionaire Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. The company, which is financially backed by...
Plan B Entertainment, which is run by Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner, hired Moelis & Co. to shop for a buyer or potential investors last month. The company was founded in 2001 by Pitt and Jennifer Aniston shortly after the pair married. Pitt eventually took over the banner after the two divorced in 2005. Its credits include “The Departed,” “Moonlight” and “12 Years a Slave,” all of which won the Oscar for best picture. The company recently produced “She Said,” a look at the journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, as well as “Blonde,” an off-beat drama about Marilyn Monroe.
Mediawan was founded in 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, telecom billionaire Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. The company, which is financially backed by...
- 12/9/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment is in advanced talks to sell a significant stake to Mediawan, the fast-rising French production and distribution group, Variety has confirmed.
Mediawan, which is financially backed by New York-based private equity firm Kkr, is not the only bidder and negotiations are not exclusive at this point. Bloomberg first reported about the talks.
Founded in 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, telecom billionaire Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, the company has been ramping up its presence within the competitive English-language market through the acquisition (with Leonine Studios) of Drama Republic in the U.K. and recently announced a joint venture with “The Son” filmmaker Florian Zeller and former CAA executive Federica Sainte-Rose to launch an L.A.-based production vehicle called Blue Monday Pictures. Mediawan already boasts a strong presence in Europe with stakes in some of France’s most successful production banners, including Dimitri Rassam’s Chapter...
Mediawan, which is financially backed by New York-based private equity firm Kkr, is not the only bidder and negotiations are not exclusive at this point. Bloomberg first reported about the talks.
Founded in 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, telecom billionaire Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, the company has been ramping up its presence within the competitive English-language market through the acquisition (with Leonine Studios) of Drama Republic in the U.K. and recently announced a joint venture with “The Son” filmmaker Florian Zeller and former CAA executive Federica Sainte-Rose to launch an L.A.-based production vehicle called Blue Monday Pictures. Mediawan already boasts a strong presence in Europe with stakes in some of France’s most successful production banners, including Dimitri Rassam’s Chapter...
- 10/31/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Mediawan Rights, the commercial arm of the European media powerhouse, is set to expand its scope with the launch of a sales division dedicated to light entertainment programming. Estelle Bodén, an industry veteran, has been appointed head of distribution of this newly-created unit.
Bodén will report to Valérie Vleeschhouwer, managing director of Mediawan Rights, and will be in charge of developing and structuring this new initiative.
Boasting 25 years of experience, the executive previously worked at Strix Television, the outfit behind hit reality TV formats such as “The Farm” and “The Bar.” In 2004, Bodén co-founded Friday TV whose portfolio included factual formats around the world, notably “Clash of the Choirs,” “Single Moms” and “Minute to Win It” which aired on NBC in the U.S. and traveled to more than 50 territories. She also co-created the Swedish company Elk Entertainment, which was acquired by ITV Studios in 2017.
Under Vleeschhouwer’s leadership, Mediawan...
Bodén will report to Valérie Vleeschhouwer, managing director of Mediawan Rights, and will be in charge of developing and structuring this new initiative.
Boasting 25 years of experience, the executive previously worked at Strix Television, the outfit behind hit reality TV formats such as “The Farm” and “The Bar.” In 2004, Bodén co-founded Friday TV whose portfolio included factual formats around the world, notably “Clash of the Choirs,” “Single Moms” and “Minute to Win It” which aired on NBC in the U.S. and traveled to more than 50 territories. She also co-created the Swedish company Elk Entertainment, which was acquired by ITV Studios in 2017.
Under Vleeschhouwer’s leadership, Mediawan...
- 4/4/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The partners will make two to three projects a year.
French media company Mediawan has signed a strategic partnership with Paris and New York-based creative studio Good Hero to make two to three internationally-focused projects a year.
Mediawan and Good Hero will co-develop and co-produce high-end television series and features, both live and animation and mostly in the English language, adapted from Good Hero’s slate of original content.
Good Hero was founded in 2020 by leading French producer Laurent Zeitoun and CEO Gregory Ouanhon. Zeitoun’s producing credits include The Intouchables andThe Death Of Stalin, and his directorial debut Fireheart...
French media company Mediawan has signed a strategic partnership with Paris and New York-based creative studio Good Hero to make two to three internationally-focused projects a year.
Mediawan and Good Hero will co-develop and co-produce high-end television series and features, both live and animation and mostly in the English language, adapted from Good Hero’s slate of original content.
Good Hero was founded in 2020 by leading French producer Laurent Zeitoun and CEO Gregory Ouanhon. Zeitoun’s producing credits include The Intouchables andThe Death Of Stalin, and his directorial debut Fireheart...
- 2/22/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Iris Knobloch, WarnerMedia’s former president of France, Benelux, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is launching a €250 million ($300M) European Spac with Artemis, a holding company backed by François-Henri Pinault, the billionaire French businessman married to Salma Hayek.
Named I2PO, the special-purpose acquisition company claims to be the first outfit of its kind in Europe dedicated to investing in entertainment and leisure companies. I2PO is registered in France and is listing on Euronext Paris.
SPACs, also called “blank-check” vehicles, are basically shells that go public to look for private companies to buy. Selling to a Spac is generally seen as an easier and cheaper route to an IPO. There have been a rash of SPACs in recent months, with notable examples in entertainment including Forest Road Acquisition Corp, run by former Disney executive Kevin Mayer.
Knobloch, who announced her exit from WarnerMedia last month, will serve as I2PO’s chairwoman and CEO.
Named I2PO, the special-purpose acquisition company claims to be the first outfit of its kind in Europe dedicated to investing in entertainment and leisure companies. I2PO is registered in France and is listing on Euronext Paris.
SPACs, also called “blank-check” vehicles, are basically shells that go public to look for private companies to buy. Selling to a Spac is generally seen as an easier and cheaper route to an IPO. There have been a rash of SPACs in recent months, with notable examples in entertainment including Forest Road Acquisition Corp, run by former Disney executive Kevin Mayer.
Knobloch, who announced her exit from WarnerMedia last month, will serve as I2PO’s chairwoman and CEO.
- 7/14/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Mediawan Rights, the commercial division of French independent media powerhouse Mediawan founded by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse in 2015, is poised to step up its premium documentary clout through its dedicated sales unit.
Presided by veteran sales executive Valerie Vleeschhouwer, Mediawan Rights has signed an exclusive partnership deal with Forbidden Stories, the production banner behind many critically-acclaimed investigative documentaries, such as “Green Blood.” The outfit was founded by Laurent Richard, an award-winning French documentary filmmaker and producer who won the Prix Europa Award for the European Journalist of the Year in 2018.
Mediawan is already a leader in the docu landscape with outfits such as Cc&c (Clarke Costelle & Co), Black Dynamite and Troisième Œil, and the recent acquisition of Lagardere Studios, which comprises key documentary producers such as Imagissime (“Who Killed Little Gregory?”), Maximal Productions, 909 productions, Electron Libre productions and Réservoir Prod, as well as Aito Media in Finland,...
Presided by veteran sales executive Valerie Vleeschhouwer, Mediawan Rights has signed an exclusive partnership deal with Forbidden Stories, the production banner behind many critically-acclaimed investigative documentaries, such as “Green Blood.” The outfit was founded by Laurent Richard, an award-winning French documentary filmmaker and producer who won the Prix Europa Award for the European Journalist of the Year in 2018.
Mediawan is already a leader in the docu landscape with outfits such as Cc&c (Clarke Costelle & Co), Black Dynamite and Troisième Œil, and the recent acquisition of Lagardere Studios, which comprises key documentary producers such as Imagissime (“Who Killed Little Gregory?”), Maximal Productions, 909 productions, Electron Libre productions and Réservoir Prod, as well as Aito Media in Finland,...
- 4/14/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based content group announces intentions to acquire Lagardère Studios, takes minority stake in Germany’s Leonine.
Burgeoning Paris-based film and TV content group Mediawan has announced a trio of corporate acquisitions in France, Germany and Spain as part of a pan-European expansion drive.
Mediawan is acquiring French content group Lagardère Studios, for a figure of around €100m ($112m), and a majority stake in Spanish production company Good Mood.
Under the operation, Mediawan’s three co-founders – Pierre-Anton Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse - will create a dedicated French company called Mediawan Alliance, which will oversee all of the assets.
They...
Burgeoning Paris-based film and TV content group Mediawan has announced a trio of corporate acquisitions in France, Germany and Spain as part of a pan-European expansion drive.
Mediawan is acquiring French content group Lagardère Studios, for a figure of around €100m ($112m), and a majority stake in Spanish production company Good Mood.
Under the operation, Mediawan’s three co-founders – Pierre-Anton Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse - will create a dedicated French company called Mediawan Alliance, which will oversee all of the assets.
They...
- 6/22/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Mediawan, the Paris-based group founded in 2015, has announced the creation of a dedicated French company, Mediawan Alliance, and has submitted a binding offer and entered exclusive negotiations to acquire France’s Lagardère Studios. Further expanding its footprint, Mediawan said it has taken a majority stake in Spanish content producer Good Mood, while Mediawan Alliance would — pending certain conditions — hold a minority stake in German film and TV group Leonine which is backed by New York investment firm Kkr.
Mediawan founders Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse will control the new Mediawan Alliance, supported by financing partners including Kkr and France’s MacSf, with the objective to build a leader in audiovisual content creation and distribution.
Mediawan Alliance will launch a tender offer on all Mediawan securities not held by the Mediawan founders and MacSf, at a price of 12 euros ($13.50) per share and .65 euros per warrant.
Mediawan founders Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse will control the new Mediawan Alliance, supported by financing partners including Kkr and France’s MacSf, with the objective to build a leader in audiovisual content creation and distribution.
Mediawan Alliance will launch a tender offer on all Mediawan securities not held by the Mediawan founders and MacSf, at a price of 12 euros ($13.50) per share and .65 euros per warrant.
- 6/22/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
French media conglomerate Mediawan is continuing its Europe buying spree, inking a €100 million ($112 million) deal to TV group Lagardère Studios, a co-producer of Netflix series The Eddy, and unveiling several new deals for media assets in France, Germany and Spain.
Mediawan founders Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse have set up a new holding group, Mediawan Alliance, together with financial backers MacSf of France and U.S. private equity group Kkr, which will bundle pan-European media assets. Kkr, which owns Leonine, will transfer a minority share in the Munich-based producer/distributor to Mediawan Alliance and Leonine boss Fred ...
Mediawan founders Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse have set up a new holding group, Mediawan Alliance, together with financial backers MacSf of France and U.S. private equity group Kkr, which will bundle pan-European media assets. Kkr, which owns Leonine, will transfer a minority share in the Munich-based producer/distributor to Mediawan Alliance and Leonine boss Fred ...
- 6/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Les Cahiers du Cinema, the iconic publication that was a driving force behind the French New Wave, is weathering an unprecedented crisis following the resignation of the majority of its staff on Thursday.
Some of its journalists, however, have decided to remain on board while they await the appointment of a new editor-in-chief.
Among the seasoned candidates rumored to be in the running to take over as editor-in-chief are film critic-director Marcos Uzal; film and theater critic and historian Antoine de Baecque; Charles Tesson, the current artistic director of Cannes Critics Week, who previously held the position at Les Cahiers du Cinema from 1998 to 2003; and Jean-Marc Lalanne, a film critic who runs the culture magazine Les Inrocks.
Although it was reported that the entire newsroom of Les Cahiers du Cinema has quit in protest against the publication’s new owners — which include billionaire businessman Xavier Niel; Alain Weill, the head...
Some of its journalists, however, have decided to remain on board while they await the appointment of a new editor-in-chief.
Among the seasoned candidates rumored to be in the running to take over as editor-in-chief are film critic-director Marcos Uzal; film and theater critic and historian Antoine de Baecque; Charles Tesson, the current artistic director of Cannes Critics Week, who previously held the position at Les Cahiers du Cinema from 1998 to 2003; and Jean-Marc Lalanne, a film critic who runs the culture magazine Les Inrocks.
Although it was reported that the entire newsroom of Les Cahiers du Cinema has quit in protest against the publication’s new owners — which include billionaire businessman Xavier Niel; Alain Weill, the head...
- 2/28/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Italian TV and film production company Palomar – which is at the Berlin Film Festival with Claudio Giovannesi’s competition entry “Pirhanas” – last month forged a strategic alliance with France’s Mediawan under which Mediawan took a majority stake in Palomar which, in turn, became a Mediawan stakeholder. The deal marked the first acquisition outside France for Mediawan, which was launched in 2016 by French media industry veterans Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and Pierre-Antoine Capton and has since become an integrated media group that ranks as France’s biggest producer of television fiction content. Palomar founder and CEO Carlo Degli Esposti and its managing director Nicola Serra spoke to Variety about how the Mediawan deal will help them expand internationally together.
I believe you had balked at other offers from non Italian companies before. What made you go with Mediawan?
Degli Esposti
We were actually trying to grow by buying another company outside of Italy,...
I believe you had balked at other offers from non Italian companies before. What made you go with Mediawan?
Degli Esposti
We were actually trying to grow by buying another company outside of Italy,...
- 2/11/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
French company Mediawan has acquired a majority stake in Palomar, the leading independent Italian production outfit behind the cop show “Inspector Montalbano” and the highly anticipated series “The Name of the Rose,” with John Turturro and Rupert Everett.
The deal marks the first international acquisition by Mediawan, the listed company launched in 2016 by three media industry veterans: Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and Pierre-Antoine Capton. Mediawan was formed as a special investment vehicle but has now become an integrated media group specializing in production and distribution for both film and TV.
Palomar is involved in film, TV series and documentaries. It will be attending the Berlin Film Festival with Claudio Giovannesi’s “La paranza dei bambini” (“Piranhas”), which is set to world premiere in competition.
Under the new deal, Mediawan becomes the majority shareholder of Palomar with a 72% stake, with the remaining 28% to be retained by Carlo Degli Esposti, Palomar’s founder and CEO.
The deal marks the first international acquisition by Mediawan, the listed company launched in 2016 by three media industry veterans: Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and Pierre-Antoine Capton. Mediawan was formed as a special investment vehicle but has now become an integrated media group specializing in production and distribution for both film and TV.
Palomar is involved in film, TV series and documentaries. It will be attending the Berlin Film Festival with Claudio Giovannesi’s “La paranza dei bambini” (“Piranhas”), which is set to world premiere in competition.
Under the new deal, Mediawan becomes the majority shareholder of Palomar with a 72% stake, with the remaining 28% to be retained by Carlo Degli Esposti, Palomar’s founder and CEO.
- 1/15/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
British infidelity drama Doctor Foster is being remade in France with Claire Keim (Insoupçonnable) taking on the main role made famous by Suranne Jones.
The series, which tells the story of a woman who finds out her husband is having an affair and the subsequent chaos it causes, is being produced for French commercial broadcaster TF1.
It is being produced by Storia Télévision, the French business that acquired a number of the television assets of Luc Besson’s Europacorp earlier this year and is owned by Mediawan, set up by French entrepreneurs Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. It had previously emerged last year that Besson’s firm would produce a local adaptation of Doctor Foster. It is being produced in association with BBC Studios’ French production division. The six-part series will begin filming this month in Biarritz and in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region.
The French remake, renamed Infidéle...
The series, which tells the story of a woman who finds out her husband is having an affair and the subsequent chaos it causes, is being produced for French commercial broadcaster TF1.
It is being produced by Storia Télévision, the French business that acquired a number of the television assets of Luc Besson’s Europacorp earlier this year and is owned by Mediawan, set up by French entrepreneurs Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. It had previously emerged last year that Besson’s firm would produce a local adaptation of Doctor Foster. It is being produced in association with BBC Studios’ French production division. The six-part series will begin filming this month in Biarritz and in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region.
The French remake, renamed Infidéle...
- 6/1/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
European media group Mediawan is to acquire three major French TV production companies including the television division of Luc Besson's Europacorp. Mediawan, which was formed by French entrepreneurs Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse in 2016 after raising €250M ($300M) in capital, revealed that it was acquiring the non-us television assets of Besson's firm as well as Kaboul Kitchen group Makever and Call My Agent indie Mon Voisin Productions. The…...
- 1/15/2018
- Deadline TV
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