Fairfax Financial Takes Majority Stake in Temple Street Productions

TORONTO: Fairfax Financial Holdings has secured a majority stake in Orphan Black producer Temple Street Productions, which plans to use the capital to expand content production and distribution operations as well as to explore acquisitions.

Co-presidents David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg, along with managing director John Young, will all continue to manage the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the company. In addition to Orphan Black, Temple Street is behind such international shows as Killjoys (Syfy, Space), X Company (CBC), Being Erica (CBC, SOAPnet), The Next Step (Family Channel, Hulu) and Recipe to Riches (CBC).

Fortier and Schneeberg commented, “Fairfax is a long-term value investor in Canada and around the world. We are grateful for its belief in the leadership of our studio, and we look forward to a dynamic journey forward in our pursuit of building a world class content creation and rights management company.”
 
"We are thrilled to have Temple Street join the Fairfax group,” said Paul Rivett, the president of Fairfax. "The company is a Canadian-based success story, and we look forward to being partners with David, Ivan and John and working with the entire Temple Street team to further grow the business over the long term."
 
Young added, “This new capital will provide us with the platform from which to execute our ambitious growth plans, not only within Canada, but beyond our borders into the U.S. and other international markets. We believe in our ability to create and produce world class content for all platforms, and we’re excited by the prospect of being able to scale our operations with Fairfax by our side.”