Xavier Niel, Pierre-Antoine Capton and Matthieu Pigasse, founders of Mediawan, on June 19, 2020 in Paris. (AFP / JOEL SAGET)
Mediawan, French heavyweight in European audiovisual production, is growing further by purchasing Leonine, the first independent studio on the German market, it announced Monday in a press release.
This operation “allows us to consolidate” Mediawan, present in “13 countries” via “85 production labels”, and marks its “entry into the very dynamic German market”, welcomed the group chaired by Pierre-Antoine Capton.
This is part of “Mediawan’s strategy to create a true pan-European studio” to produce content “across the world”, he continued, without specifying the amount of the transaction, carried out entirely by a contribution of securities. Mediawan.
In 2020, Mediawan had already acquired a stake of around 25% in Leonine, which notably produced or co-produced international works such as the film “The Lives of Others” or the series “Dark”.
The finalization of this acquisition “remains subject to obtaining competition authorization from the competent authorities in Germany and Austria, as well as certain other regulatory approvals”, according to the group.
Mediawan was founded at the end of 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse.
At the beginning of April, the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) requested a fine of 110,000 euros against Mr. Capton, suspected of having informed two of his relatives of a proposed public purchase offer (OPA) about the company before its official announcement in June 2020.