NHNZ Picks Up Stake in South African Firm

DUNEDIN: NHNZ has expanded its operations to South Africa, picking up a stake in the Johannesburg-based production outfit Aquavision.

According to NHNZ’s managing director, Michael Stedman, the combination with Aquavision—which NHNZ refers to as the production house in Southern Africa—will drive international growth for both companies.  “Put together two successful production companies, whose strengths are complementary to each other, and the opportunities for high-quality factual programs will increase accordingly." He added: “With Aquavision’s knowledge and tremendous experience in Africa, this development will boost both companies’ ability to generate new ideas that appeal to the international market.

NHNZ also owns a stake of Singapore’s Beach House Pictures and operates a production office in Beijing. "NHNZ is part way through a strategy to bring like-minded companies around the world on board to strengthen our global filmmaking capacity and giving us access to an enormous range of footage and production opportunities,” Stedman says.

Aquavision CEO and founder Peter Lamberti added: "We have enjoyed working closely with NHNZ in the past and have an immense respect for their work so today’s announcement marks a significant step forward in the growth of our relationship. Joining forces with NHNZ gives us access to decades of filmmaking expertise and will raise our profile with their network of some of the world’s top broadcasters and networks."