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Balaji Telefilms’ promoters up stake to 47.29% post Star India’s exit
MUMBAI: After Star’s stake sale of 25.99 per cent in Balaji Telefilms Limited (BTL), the company’s promoters Shobha and Ekta Kapoor have acquired 28,43,000 equity shares at Rs 63.60 per equity share. With this, the promoters have upped their stake in BTL from 42.93 per cent to 47.29 per cent.
Prior to the acquisition, Shobha Kapoor held 14 per cent stake in BTL, which has now been upped to 15.31 per cent (99,82,462 equity shares) post the acquisition of shares from Star Middle East FZ-LLC.
On the other hand, Ekta Kapoor’s shareholding in the company has increased to 23.87 per cent (1,55,62,704 equity shares) from the previous 20.81 per cent post the share acquisition.
Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair also acquired 416,000 equity shares, which takes his current holding in the company to 1.06 per cent (692,729 equity shares).
Balaji Telefilms Limited managing director Shobha Kapoor said, “Balaji Telefilms has in place a very strong growth platform in both the television and motion pictures segments. We are very optimistic about our growth outlook that is being driven by a highly capable leadership team. This transaction is reflective of our confidence in the company and its growth story.”
Nair added, “We have already embarked upon several exciting strategic initiatives, which we believe will translate into improved operating and financial performance. We are also very well poised to capitalise on the several opportunities opening up in the media industry.”
Fiction
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.
