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9 months ago
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The All3Media sale saga has drawn to a close after almost a year with Redbird IMI confirming the acquisition of The Traitors superindie from Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global for £1.15B ($1.45B)
Jeff Zucker and Gerry Cardinale‘s RedBird IMI takes control of a 50-label outfit with production entities across the world that owns the likes of Fleabag maker Two Brothers Pictures, Traitors producer Studio Lambert and 1917’s Neal Street.
The private equity group had emerged as frontrunner late last year, at which point previous frontrunner Banijay pulled out of the race. At that point, it appeared a deal might be struck quickly, but we have heard there have been delays over recent weeks as RedBird execs negotiate with All3 parents Liberty Global and Warner Bros Discovery.
Redbird is 75%-owned by Abu Dhabi and was formed in 2022. RedBird Capital, which owns the other share, has a roster including Skydance Media, the YES Network, and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity. RedBird also teamed with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia to buy the XFL out of bankruptcy. RedBird IMI has already been pushing into the UK with the attempted acquisition of the Telegraph and Spectator magazines, although that has been held up by regulators amid intense scrutiny of British media ownership rules.
All eyes now on how Redbird looks to rejig the Jane Turton-run super-indie.
The outfit was put up for sale last year valued at around £1B and bidders have included ITV, which had to go public with its interest, Banijay, Peter Chernin’s North Road and a private equity bid from Goldman Sachs.
All3Media revenues rocketed 17% to £1B ($1.3B) last year, as we revealed in late June. EBITDA shot up by a similar proportion to £100M and total group operating profit was up from £26M to £40M. However, some were understood to have balked at the initial £1B valuation due to All3Media’s considerable debt pile, which amounts to some £760M.
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