ITV Buys Educating Yorkshire Producer Twofour

LONDON: ITV is acquiring Boom Supervisory, the holding company of the Twofour Group, which includes U.S.- and U.K.-based production outfits behind such shows as Educating Yorkshire, The Hotel Inspector and Posh Pawn.

The group includes Twofour, Boomerang, Oxford Scientific Films, Indus, Boom Cymru, Twofour America and scripted producer Delightful Industries. Combined, the output of the Twofour Group comes to more than 1,200 hours of programming. Twofour delivered £5 million ($7.8 million) EBITDA in 2014.

ITV, which acquires Twofour from majority shareholder LDC, will pay an initial cash consideration of £55 million ($86 million) for 75 percent of the group. There is a put and call option for the remaining 25 percent that can be exercised at the end of 2017 and between the end of 2019 and 2021, with any further payment subject to minimum average EBITDA thresholds.

Additionally, Twofour owns 51 percent of drama indie Mainstreet Pictures and has a put and call option to acquire the remaining 49 percent of its subsidiary Mainstreet that can be exercised between 2018 and 2023. The total maximum consideration for Twofour and the remaining stake in Mainstreet is £280 million ($439 million) with contingent payments dependent on the businesses delivering exceptional profit growth to £60 million ($94 million) in aggregate over the payment period.

Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV Studios, said: "Great creative talent, fantastic content and brilliant production expertise are central to ITV Studios’ strategy, so I'm delighted that the Twofour Group is joining our family of production companies as we continue to boost ITV Studios’ growth in the U.K. and internationally."
 
Julian Bellamy, the managing director of ITV Studios UK, added: "At ITV Studios our mission is to work with the best creative talent in Britain and our acquisition of Twofour is a brilliant illustration of that ambition. They're a creative group at the top of their game across factual, entertainment, drama and comedy and we're delighted to welcome them into the ITVS family."

Melanie Leach, the chief executive of Twofour, said: “The management teams across the Twofour Group are delighted to be joining ITV Studios. ITVS has a great track record in backing creative talent and we look forward to working with them as we continue to grow the group in the U.K. and internationally.”