Banijay, All3Media to merge entertainment businesses

By Leo Marchandon

March 3 (Reuters) - Banijay ‌Group and All3Media, ​owned ​by investment firm RedBird IMI, have agreed to merge their entertainment production businesses to create one of Europe's largest multimedia production groups, the ‌companies said on Tuesday.

Banijay is 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.

"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 to explain the merger's rationale.

The deal would strengthen ⁠Banijay's leading position in global content, he said, and would keep it well positioned as the streaming market ​consolidated, led by Warner Bros Discovery agreeing to be acquired by Paramount Skydance last month.

"Scale is a very important factor for ​growth," he said, noting that Paramount winning the race ‌to buy Warner Bros was a good outcome for Banijay because it would create a powerful competitor to Netflix< NFLX.O>.

"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.

* Transaction expected ⁠to close by the fall of 2026. * Banijay chief executive Marco Bassetti is set to ​lead thecompany. * RedBird IMI will roll-over its entire stake in All3Mediainto the new combined entity. * Both parties will hold 50% of the combined entity, whichwill retain the Banijay name. * Transaction leads ‌to a total cash upstream for BanijayGroup 796 million euros, including a payment of 625 millioneuros by RedBird IMI. * Transaction expected ‌to deliver around 50 million euros incost synergies within 12 month post-closing of the transaction * ⁠Between them, Banijay and All3Media ‌control a slate ofglobally recognised ​titles, also including "Keeping Up with theKardashians" and "MasterChef."

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Susan Fenton and ‌Nick Zieminski)

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