The producers’ joint venture, which will now operate under the new name, Mediawan & Leonine Studios, announced the acquisition of UK producer, Drama Republic.
French producer Mediawan and German producer Leonine Studios, joined forces last year by creating a joint company. The company announced today that it will operate under its new brand name, Mediawan & Leonine Studios with immediate effect.
As a European studio, the company unites the strengths of Mediawan and Leonine Studios to form one of the major independent European media groups. It nurtures international talents, develops and produces innovative premium IP for a global market, while also holding market-leading positions in production, distribution and licensing in their respective territories.
Mediawan & Leonine Studios is led by Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton and Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel as the Co-CEOs of the company.
In addition, Mediawan & Leonine Studios acquired 51 % of the shares in the award-winning UK production company Drama Republic Ltd. This acquisition marks a key step in developing the European and the international footprint of Mediawan & Leonine Studios into English-speaking territories. With strong positions in France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain and the UK, the Studio is now engaged in the top European content markets.
Pierre-Antoine Capton, CEO of Mediawan, says: “We are delighted to welcome within our family the very experienced and ambitious team of Drama Republic. Combining creative forces and market relevance with Drama Republic unlocks fantastic opportunities for our studio: we look forward to seizing synergies in co-production, distribution and licensing, enabling our local hits to travel globally. Mediawan & Leonine Studios will give us even more firepower on a day-to-day basis to support talents and create appealing content with international potential.”
Fred Kogel, CEO of Leonine Studios, adds: “Nurturing talents is part of the common DNA of Leonine, Mediawan and Drama Republic. Our partnership will open up endless new perspectives for talents, as well as our customers and partners. In the last few years, Drama Republic’s Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Greg and Roanna and their team proved their unique capability to produce premium content with a global reach, partnering with both traditional broadcasters and streaming platforms on high-end series. We are very much looking forward to embarking on this exciting journey together and to developing ambitious and inspiring projects with Drama Republic. The creation of Mediawan & Leonine Studios is an important step for both Mediawan and Leonine.”
Greg Brenman and Roanna Benn, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of Drama Republic, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to be embarking on a long-term partnership with Mediawan & Leonine Studios, one of Europe’s leading drama producers. As the makers of Call My Agent and Dark, their ability to produce stellar content couldn’t be more evident. We are thrilled and honoured to help lead their expansion into English-language content.”
Drama Republic is led by Greg Brenman, Roanna Benn and CCO Jude Liknaitzky since 2013. They will all stay on in their respective roles. Drama Republic is home to many acclaimed dramas: Doctor Foster – which was sold in over 100 territories, The Honourable Woman – which landed 11 international awards including a Golden Globe, a Peabody and BAFTA award, Pure and The Irregulars.
These successful productions benefitted from the close relationship between Drama Republic’s creative team and some of the best talents in the UK: award-winning screenwriter and director Hugo Blick (The Honourable Woman, The English, currently in production starring Emily Blunt), best-selling novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls (Patrick Melrose, Us, One Day), multi-Olivier award winning playwright Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster, King Charles III), BAFTA and Emmy award-winning Tom Bidwell, the creator of The Irregulars and My Mad Fat Diary. Drama Republic also has upcoming green-lit projects with writers Sara Collins, David Ireland and Nicole Taylor.
The financial aspects of the transaction are undisclosed. The transaction was closed on 1 July 2021.
