France’s Mediawan Buys Germany’s Leonine Studios

Jesse Whittock
·1 min read

France’s Mediawan has acquired Germany’s Leonine Studios.

The deal, financial terms of which were not revealed, has been bubbling since November last year. Call My Agent maker Mediawan has owned a 25% stake in the business since 2020.

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The all-stock deal will see the two companies move even closer together and forms a major European indie studio with 85 labels operating across 13 countries and revenues of more than €1B ($1.1B).

Leonine was founded in 2019 by Fred Kogel with financial support from KKR — a Mediawan backer — and Atwater Capital through acquiring and merging TMG, Universum Film, i&u TV and Wiedemann & Berg Film, and then W&B Television, SEO Entertainment, Hyperbole, BeetzBros Film Production and Toon2Tango.

Productions from within the group include The Lives of Others, School of Magical Animals, Dark, The Gryphon, Crooks, Juan Carlos – Downfall of The King, and The Cleaners. It also has certain rights to blockbuster titles such as the John Wick franchise, Hunger Games – The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes, Knives Out, Everything, Everywhere All At Once and The Zone of Interest.

Kogel will lead operations in German-speaking regions and alongside existing management and joins Mediawan’s executive committee.

The deal is subject to antitrust clearance from authorities in Germany and Austria, and certain other regulatory approvals.

Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse formed Mediawan in 2015.

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