ProSieben Strikes Digital Assets Deal With General Atlantic
Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Media has agreed a deal to buy the minority stakes of U.S.-based private investor General Atlantic in dating platform ParshipMeet and digital firm NuCom Group (excluding perfume e-retailer Flaconi). The agreement does not include include a convertible bond that would have given General Atlantic a 10% share in ProSieben. What it does comprise is ProSieben paying €10M ($10.8M) in cash and nearly six million treasury shares at a market value of €38M, and a fixed exit agreement of €50M when ProSieben sells ParshipMeet as expected, along with e-commerce platform Verivox and other digital holdings as it doubles down on its core broadcasting and content business. However, General Atlantic does gain 2.5% in ProSieben. The ownership of ProSieben continues to be a major talking point in European TV, with lead shareholder MediaForEurope and Czech investor PPF both pushing for change.
Studio DHL & Paradiso Buy Miyazaki Doc
Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature, which explores Academy Award winner Hayao Miyazaki’s connection to nature, has landed sales with a trio of theatrical distributors. Studio DHL in Korea and Paradiso in the Benelux region have been confirmed as buyers, with a third in Italy remaining unnamed for now. Doc vendor Balanga has also shopped the show to TV networks across Europe and, the Les Bons Clients-produced feature doc has gone to Sweden’s SVT, DR in Denmark and RTS in Switzerland, having already broadcasted on Sky in the UK and SBS in Australia.
Emmanuel Eckert Exits Mediawan Rights
Emmanuel Eckert, Deputy Acquisitions Director at France’s Mediawan Rights, is setting up his own shop. The exec shared the news on social media, noting he has plans for an internationally-focused business working on consulting, co-productions and distribution. Eckert began his TV career for Groupe M6, acquiring programes, before moving into production for the likes of Telfrance Series and RedMoka. He joined Lagadere Studios’ sales arm in 2018 before switching to Mediawan three years ago. Mediawan Group recently made headlines for its splashy acquisition of Heartstopper producer See-Saw Films.
