Leading producer and distributor of content Banijay owned by the international leader in gaming and multimedia content FL Entertainment Group has taken its plans to acquire Beyond International one step further. Banijay has announced it has entered a scheme implementation deed at the end of which Beyond will turn into a wholly owned subsidiary.
Banijay Takings Its Offering Up Considerably
As a result of the same procedure, Beyond’s shares will no longer be available for public trading. Banijay’s chief executive officer Marco Bassetti described the acquisition as a means of taking their offering up “considerably.“ He further explained the importance of constantly spicing up their catalog in the context of the ever-growing demand on the market. Bassetti added that the deal would mainly boost their intellectual property and production portfolio in English-speaking markets. At the same time, the acquisition would strengthen its position as a top option for both clients and commercial partners. Banijay’s intellectual property portfolio which already incorporates over 130,000 hours of multi-genre content will welcome Beyond’s 8,000 hours of intellectual property. The list includes both in-house productions and third-party titles including Halifax: Retribution, Highway Thru Hell, MythBusters, Massive Engineering Mistakes, and Heavy Rescue: 401.
At the same time, some of Beyond Productions’ freshest titles include Back in the Groove, a brand new dating series created together with Walt Disney Television Alternative for Hulu audiences, Love it or List It Australia, a multi-territory franchise, the Troppo series produced together with EQ Media and broadcast on ABC Australia and Freevee USA, and several other series yet to be made public in different global markets.
The Scheme‘s Implementation, Subject to Conditions
The actual implementation of the Scheme needs to comply with a series of conditions. Among them, the need for Beyond shareholders’ to approve the acquisition, receive approval in court, and a number of other standard conditions for closing the deal. The end of the year or the start of 2023 are the expected closing dates for the deal.
Beyond International’s managing director and chief executive officer, Mikael Borglund spoke about the company’s board being “very much supportive of the deal.” He added that Beyond expects to join the “leading global business” and harness the “very exciting opportunity” while looking forward to working together on “newfound opportunities ahead.” Corrs Chambers Westgarth is in charge of advising Banijay on all the steps of the deal. At the end of the acquisition, Banijay will be in full charge of all departments and companies belonging to the Beyond International Limited group.
At the beginning of the month, FL Entertainment announced strong first half of the year, with revenue reaching the €1.80 billion ($1.77 billion) mark.