Fiction
K Sera Sera to pump in Rs 2.5 billion for 20 movies
MUMBAI: K Sera Sera is planning a production pipeline of 20 movies and has announced an investment outlay of Rs 2.5 billion over the next two years.
The company will also foray into regional film production. “We have been looking at aggressively scaling up and have signed up big ticket directors. We plan to produce more than 20 films, which will be released by end-March 2008, at a total outlay in excess of Rs. 250 crores,” said K Sera Sera managing director Parag Sanghavi.
The company has signed up a wide spectrum of directorial talent like David Dhawan, Abbas Mastan and Priyadarshan which it believes will give it a definite edge in the battle for market share in the Hindi feature films business. “We are in advanced stages of discussions to forge an alliance with yet another leading Bollywood director who has won immense critical and popular acclaim. We shall share details at an opportune time in the near future,” Sanghavi revealed.
How does the company fund these projects? In the first phase, K Sera Sera will require Rs 1.1 billion, of which it has deployed Rs 550 million for the four movies which are on floor. Besides, it will use Rs 300 million from the money it raised through a follow-on public issue. The debt component will be around Rs 250-300 million.
K Sera Sera recently launched its first initiative of film distribution as a test case in Mumbai. Elaborating on the plans to release more films in the near future, Sanghavi said, “We released Malamaal Weekly with a total of 150-plus prints including digital prints in Mumbai. The film achieved a revenue of close to Rs 40 million, which was much more than what was achieved by mega starrers like Family and Zinda in the same time.”
The company is planning to make 8-10 movies a year, scaling up from three movies it produced for the current fiscal. “We should see a topline growth of over 100 per cent year-on-year in FY 07 and 08 from the expected March 06 figures of Rs 700 million. Profitability too is expected to grow at the same rate,” said Sanghvi.
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.
