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Crown Media sells intl business including Hallmark for $242 million
MUMBAI: Crown Media Holdings which owns and operates the Hallmark Channel, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its international business to a group of investors for $242 million.
The sale by Crown Media includes the international versions of the Hallmark Channel. Hallmark which specialises in family oriented fare is distributed outside the US to about 60 million subscribers in 152 countries, The sale also covers the international rights to over 580 titles in the Crown Media library, and the state-of-the-art broadcast facility based in Denver, Colorado, which will continue to distribute the channels throughout the world.
The sale has been made to a group of investors comprised of Providence Equity Partners, 3i and UK television executive David Elstein.
As a result all employees of the international business as well as the broadcast facility will be employed by the investor group. Proceeds from the transaction will be used by Crown Media to reduce outstanding indebtedness under its bank credit facility, for the repayment of certain intercompany receivables and the payment of other liabilities.
It was only a matter of time before Crown Media took this decision. In 2003 Crown Media’s international operations lost $21 million on about $83 million of revenue. The warning signs that Hallmark was not doing well in Asia came in 2002. That year the company closed down its Singapore sales office. It had also reduced the number feeds for the Asia Pacific region from seven to just two.
Dwelling on the transaction Crown Media president and CEO David Evans said, “We are very pleased to have signed this agreement. We are confident that the investor group will capitalise on its global media expertise to continue to expand this international business, while we focus our efforts on maintaining the tremendous growth in ratings and distribution we have been able to generate in our domestic business. From a financial perspective, this is an excellent opportunity for our company to reduce leverage and improve our overall capital structure.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the applicable regulatory authorities. The company expects to obtain approval and complete the transaction within six weeks.
Providence Equity Partners is a private investment firm. It specialises in equity investments in communications and media companies around the world. The principals of Providence Equity manage funds with over $9.0 billion in equity commitments.
Elstein is a former Channel 5 CEO. He now serves as the chairman of the British Screen Advisory Council, the Commercial Radio Companies Association, Really Useful Theatres Limited, Screen Digest Limited, Sports Network and Digital Classics.
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Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
