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 Entourage adding expertise and its network of investors.
The deal covers drama, animated and documentary series and encompasses future productions in addition to existing Mediawan Rights projects such as Zorro and adaptation of Laurent Binet’s best-selling novel Civilizations, plus Mediawan Kids and Family distribution titles including The Little Prince & Friends, Robin Hood: Season 4 and other titles geared towards youth and family audiences.
The move is the latest in Mediawan’s global expansion strategy following the group’s acquisition of a majority stake in Brad Pitt’s production house Plan B in December.
Founded in 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse and backed by financial partners including KKR and Atwater Capital, Mediawan now has a number of European production houses under its wing including Lagardère Studios, Makever, the French TV division of EuropaCorp and Mon Voisin Production in addition to several French feature production companies such as Dimitri Rassam’s Chapter 2 and Hugo Selignac’s Chi-Fou-Mi. It also has a joint venture with Leonine Studios to acquire a 51% stake in the UK’s Drama Republic (The English), and another joint venture with Oscar-winning director Florian Zeller (The Son, The Father) and Federica Sainte-Rose to launch LA-based production outfit Blue Morning Pictures.
Capton called the agreement with Entourage “an important step in our deployment strategy” that will allow them to “continue to achieve our international ambitions.”
Founded in 2015 by Julien Delajoux and Matthias Nicodeme, Entourage is a longtime investor in the entertainment industry and has worked to raise more than €50 million in financing for more than 40 French films.
Co-founder and managing partner Delajoux called the partnership with Mediawan a key step in “strengthening our position as a leading investment platform in the sector. We are very pleased to support Mediawan in its international ambitions and to build up a catalogue of premium audiovisual content together.
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