Red Arrow Takes Majority Stake in Fuse

MUNICH: Red Arrow Entertainment Group has purchased a majority stake in Fuse, the U.S. scripted producer behind Burn Notice and AMC’s remake of The Killing.

This marks Red Arrow’s second major investment in the U.S. market, after acquiring a 51-percent stake in Kinetic Content in September 2010. Fuse, led by Mikkel Bondesen, has delivered hits such as USA Network’s Burn Notice, The Good Guys for FOX and AMC’s The Killing, adapted from the original Danish show Forbrydelsen. Fuse currently has a first-look deal to develop and produce with Fox Television Studios (FTVS).

Henrik Bastin has joined Fuse as partner and CEO. Kristen Camp, who has been with Fuse since 2007, becomes a partner.

Jan Frouman, the group managing director of Red Arrow, said: "Knowing the challenges of the US scripted market, we really took our time to find the right entry point and, most importantly, the right partners. The Fuse team boasts a fantastic combination of U.S. and international production know-how. We expect our partnership to dramatically accelerate Red Arrow’s scripted business around the world."

Bondesen and Bastin added: "We have both been looking for a way to further our passion for working with the U.S. and Scandinavia, so it was a slam dunk when we had this extraordinary opportunity to join forces with Red Arrow. The partnership fits beautifully with Fuse’s plan to deepen its already long-standing and amazing relationship with David Madden and FTVS. FTVS has pioneered alternative ways of bringing top-quality shows to the U.S. networks and cable channels. We are grateful that this all fell into place—it’s going to be an exciting journey."

Fox Television Studios’ president, David Madden, said: "With The Killing and Burn Notice, Mikkel has already brought us two of the best shows on cable television. But of course, we always long for more, and Mikkel is an equally greedy bastard. So the arrangement between Fuse and Red Arrow seems like a beautiful opportunity to expand their reach even further, and to tap European as well as American sensibilities to make globally satisfying entertainment."