Six years after buying out Endemol Shine in the thick of the pandemic, Banijay (“Big Brother,” “Peaky Blinders”) is about to close its merger deal with All3Media (“The Traitors”) to form an even bigger production powerhouse, Variety has confirmed.
The joint entity would have around $6.65 billion in combined revenues based on 2024 figures, allowing the banner to build significant scale in an increasingly consolidated market.
Banijay, which is owned by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, has over 130 production companies in 25 territories. All3 Media, which was bought by RedBird IMI in May 2024 for £1.15 billion following a deal with Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global, operates more than 40 labels and has a large presence in the U.K., U.S. and Germany, among other key markets.
All3Media‘s company portfolio includes Studio Lambert, which produces “Squid Game: The Challenge” and “The Traitors,” as well as Two Brothers (“The Tourist”) and Neal Street, which is making the Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony. Banijay Entertainment, meanwhile, is behind “MasterChef,” “Big Brother,” “Survivor,” “Black Mirror,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Deal or No Deal” and the “Culpa” trilogy.
The combined banner would also boast one of the world’s biggest libraries, with Banijay Rights’ 220,000 hours, and All3Media International clocking around 35,000 hours.
Sky News, which first reported that a deal was imminent, has said that Banijay Entertainment’s CEO Marco Bassetti would run the merged entity. Under his leadership since 2013, Bassetti has in recent years been diversifying Banijay’s activities in live entertainment through labels Balich Wonder Studio (which notably produced by the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Milan Cortina) and the Independents.
Back in October, Bassetti told Variety, “The M&A market is not a priority for us today. We are happy where we are, and I believe that we have the right size and the right people in charge.” The tight-lipped Italian executive may have changed his mind due to the ongoing market consolidation, as well as the necessity to build scale and leverage to deal with fewer streamers and broadcasters.
The year kicked off with Mediawan acquiring Peter Chernin’s North Road, and David Ellison’s Paramount buying Warner Bros. for $110 billion (and announcing that HBO Max and Paramount+ will be merged into one streaming service). ITV, meanwhile, opened talks at the end last year to sell its media and entertainment unit to Comcast-owned pay-TV group Sky for $2.18 billion — although Reuters reported last month that discussions have “slowed in recent weeks.”
