Banijay Entertainment & All3Media to Merge

Banijay Group and RedBird IMI have entered into a strategic partnership to merge Banijay Entertainment and All3Media.

The newly merged company, to be called Banijay, will be jointly owned by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, with each holding a 50 percent stake.

After completion of the transaction, Marco Bassetti, currently CEO of Banijay Entertainment, will serve as CEO of the newly formed group, and Jane Turton, currently CEO of All3Media, will become deputy CEO. Jeff Zucker, CEO of RedBird IMI, will become chairman of the board of the new company.

The strategic combination of Banijay Entertainment and All3Media creates a content catalog of more than 260,000 hours of multi-genre content, including around 45 formats. The merger is expected to bolster scale in the global entertainment industry, help attract and retain world-class talent and accelerate IP monetization.

The transaction is expected to deliver approximately €50 million of cost synergies. The full run-rate is expected to be achieved within 12 months of post-closing of the transaction.

The proposed transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the fall of 2026.

“When we formed RedBird IMI three years ago, we dreamed of creating a world-class, diversified entertainment company that reaches global audiences across scripted and unscripted programming, live events and digital,” Zucker said. “With this combination of Banijay Entertainment and All3Media, we have realized that goal and are thrilled to partner with the entire Banijay team.”

Stéphane Courbit, president of Lov Group Invest, commented, “We are delighted to continue to lead the consolidation of the independent content production industry with the combination of Banijay Entertainment and All3Media, creating an even stronger powerhouse. I am also especially pleased to build a partnership with RedBird IMI, with whom we share the same vision for the industry.”

“This transaction represents a decisive step in Banijay Group’s strategy to reinforce its leading position in global entertainment,” added François Riahi, CEO of Banijay Group. “Banijay Entertainment and All3Media are highly complementary platforms with exceptional creative assets and global ambition. In all our businesses, we are leading consolidation, and this transaction is another demonstration of this in content production, just as the acquisition of Tipico announced recently in sports betting and online gaming.”

Bassetti said, “Since its inception, Banijay has been driven by entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity. In the next phase of our journey, this DNA remains integral to our commitment to building a media and entertainment company that can stand its own, and the test of time, on the global stage. One that can attract and retain the best talent, one that has the means to truly invest in ideation and building the franchises and live events of tomorrow, and one that can lead the way on adopting new technologies, new platforms and new routes to audiences—a truly diversified media and entertainment powerhouse.”

“All3Media has grown from a startup in 2003 to a globally successful creative business,” added Turton. “First and foremost, we are a group where creative and commercial excellence go hand in hand. We celebrate talent and believe in collaboration, ambition and innovation in creating and producing both stunning programs and delivering impressive financial returns. I am looking forward to working with Marco as All3Media and Banijay embark on this next exciting phase.”