Fiction
Balaji Telefilms to restructure its motion picture business
MUMBAI: It’s restructuring time at Balaji Telefilms Ltd (BTL). The company has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has got the board approval to rejig some of the businesses its subsidiary companies Balaji Motion Pictures Ltd (BMPL) and Bolt Media Ltd (BML).
BMPL does both, film production and distribution. The film production part of BMPL is being carved out and demerged with BTL, with the former being left with film distribution on its plate on which it will focus. Additionally, BTL is also being merged into BTL. BML was set up help BTL have a presence in non-fiction, reality and digital content a few years ago.
BMPL reported a revenue of Rs 22.82 crore and it had a negative net worth of Rs 47.58 crore in the year to 31 March 2016. In the past year, the company produced films such as Udta Punjab, Kya Kool Hain Hum 3, Azhar, Great Grand Mastii, and A Flying Jatt. The films that are slated to be released under its banner over the next year include: the Kamal Hassan-directed Vishwaroopam II, the Ken Ghosh-directed XXX, the Mohit Suri-directed Half Girlfriend, and the Sashanka Ghosh directed Veera Di Wedding.
BMPL had once been placed among the top five film production companies in India. BML had revenues of Rs 65 lakh in the same period with its net worth getting wiped out to the tune of Rs 1.74 crore.
The entire transaction – not involving any cash flow – will not impact BTL’s share capital. However, BMPL’s equity will see a reduction. Axis Capital is advising to BTL with Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas acting as the legal advisor.
BTL says it is resorting to this so as help streamline the group’s structure as BTL is also into production. The amalgamation and demerger will result in economies of scale, improve capital allocation, cost and operational efficiency, cash flows, and utilization of resources.
Says BTL joint managing director Ekta Kapoor: “This will help us to focus more efficiently on our content genres and formats.” Adds BTL group CEO Sameer Nair: “We are committed to improving margins and profitability and consolidation of our operations is a step in that direction leading to a better value creation for our shareholders. This will also ensure more efficient use of our senior management’s bandwidth, thereby allowing more time to focus on ALT Digital, our digital foray, which is set to redefine the entertainment viewing experience of Indians in India and across the globe.”
The restructuring proposal, however, awaits shareholder and other legal approvals.
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.
