European giant Mediawan has acquired Peter Chernin’s US studio North Road Company.
North Road will serve as Mediawan’s North American hub, with the company’s leadership teams, labels and creative partnerships remaining in place.
Chernin, a former Fox chairman who co-founded North Road in 2022, will join the Mediawan board and will serve as non-executive chairman of The North Road Company. Scott Manson will become CEO of The North Road Company. Jenno Topping will remain president of Chernin Entertainment.
The combined group remains led by Pierre-Antoine Capton, headquartered in Paris, with Mediawan’s governance and control unchanged.
Together, Mediawan and North Road will operate nearly 100 individual production companies. A statement from the companies said their combined annual production volume represents over $2bn across 15 countries, including the US, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Australia, Mexico and Turkey.
North Road’s media entities include: Chernin Entertainment, led by David Ready; Chernin Entertainment Television, led by Kaitlin Dahill and Tracey Cook; Kinetic Content, led by Chris Coelen; Worlds + Pictures, led by Connor Schell; North Road Television Studio, led by Amy Israel; Perro Azul in Mexico City and Karga Seven in Istanbul.
This acquisition is Mediawan’s first North American investment since Plan B Entertainment in 2022, which will continue to operate with full global creative independence under the leadership of Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.
Since its launch in 2015, Mediawan has invested in more than 80 companies, mainly in Europe and including UK-Australia outfit See-Saw and the UK’s Drama Republic and Misfits. Last year, Mediawan launched a partnership with LuckyChap.
The combined Mediawan and North Road entity is backed by global investors, including Mediawan’s strategic partner KKR, Qatar Investment Authority, Providence Equity Partners, The Raine Group, Bpifrance, and Mediawan co-founders Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. North Road shareholders, founders, and management team will become significant minority Mediawan shareholders. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals, with closing expected in the first half of 2026.
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