Will Smith, Marc Forster Acquire Telepool

Actor and producer Will Smith has teamed up with director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, World War Z) to buy the German distribution outfit Telepool, the parent company of Global Screen.

With the deal, Telepool becomes the development, financing and distribution partner for Smith and Forster’s projects. Smith and James Lassiter’s Overbrook Entertainment will have the option to develop and distribute film and television projects through Telepool. Similarly, Forster and Renee Wolfe’s independent production entity 2dux² will also have the option to develop and distribute film and television projects through Telepool.

The Smith Family Circle, the venture Smith runs with his wife Jada, and the investment group Elysian Fields, which is associated with Forster, acquired Telepool from Bayerischer Rundfunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, SWR Media Services and Telvetia S.A.

“Marc and I took a close look at Telepool and discovered a company that has an incredible reputation and a lot of potential,” Smith said. “We look forward to working together and with the Telepool team to creating unique opportunities and content to strategically grow the business.”

Forster noted, “As a German-born Swiss national, I was familiar with Telepool long before completing this acquisition with Will and his family. We believe that Telepool is well positioned for continued success and growth in our rapidly changing media landscape. I believe Will and I will be able to contribute our combined energies and global relationships to the company’s advantage. It’s an exciting undertaking.”

André Druskeit, CEO of Telepool Group, added, “The new shareholders are very much committed to continuing our business model. Also, all management positions at subsidiary companies and all other management functions will remain unchanged for the time being. The setup is great and we’re looking forward to many exciting projects with Will, Marc and all our business partners. We will also continue the successful cooperation with our previous shareholders. Although they have indeed sold all of their shares in Telepool, they have renewed their respective framework agreements with us. I would like to thank them for this as well as for the support throughout the past decades. Also many thanks to Dr. Thomas Weymar, our longtime CEO who retired by the end of May, for successfully developing our company over the last 25 years.”