British television giant ITV said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy a 79.5 percent majority stake in Natural History TV show maker Plimsoll Productions for about 3,103.5 million ($126 million) in cash. .
The deal is valued at 131 million ims ($150 million) by the Plimsoll company. Founded in Bristol in 2013, it has created hundreds of hours of content viewed and sold in nearly 200 countries.
“Through Plimsoll Productions, as a studio, we can continue to meet the growing demand for natural history and realistic programming,” said Carolyn McCall, chief executive of ITV.
The producer is adamant about including the series. the little world s a giant world For Apple+; hostile planet s a supernatural planet for Disney; night on earth s Animal For Netflix and the next historical series One year on planet earth For ITV, Tencent in China, Fox Nation in the US and Ard Group in Germany.
“This acquisition is the next step in ITV’s strategy to expand its international content business,” the company said. This further diversifies ITV Studios’ production base and allows ITV to capitalize on the increasingly popular demand for content in its increasingly popular natural history and factual genres. Plimsoll Productions has a strong network with all global streamers, and this acquisition will strengthen and deepen ITV Studios’ relationship with streamers.”
ITV also praised the Plimsol team. “Under the leadership of its founder, Grant Mansfield, Plimsoll Productions has built a successful track record of financial and operational performance,” he said. Following the transaction, CEO Mansfield and senior creative managers will continue to run the business and “play a key role in developing the program to maintain Plimsoll’s strong creative portfolio.” They will work with ITV Studios Managing Director Julian Bellamy, Angela Jane, the UK Unscripted Director and her team.
“Plimsoll Productions is also expanding into premium unscripted documentary and investigative entertainment departments that run major networks/platforms including BBC, ABC, Channel 4, CNN, History and Hulu,” said ITV. ITV Studios already has a relationship with Plimsoll as a distributor Year Planet Earth.
ITV will acquire a 79.5% stake in Plimsoll from private equity firm LDC, Mansfield and other existing Plimsoll shareholders. This includes 85,85.5 million (US$104.2 million) in payment to existing shareholders and the completion of Primsol’s net financial debt upon completion, which is expected to be approximately 0.6 17.6 million (US$21. 4 million).
20.5 percent of the share capital will be held by Mansfield and other members of Plimsoll’s management and strategic investors. The transaction establishes the purchase and sale agreements that will allow ITV to acquire the remaining shares, the price of which depends on Plimsoll’s earnings growth through December 2027. Starting in 2028.
“Significant opportunities make International Premium a perfect time in the makeshift market for Plimsoll to join ITV Studios,” said Mansfield. “There is a very special strategic and cultural combination that will allow us to achieve our common, creative and commercial ambitions now for Plimsoll.”
Source: Hollywood Reporter

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