Lagardère Buys Majority Stake in African Distribution Platform DIFFA

May 19, 2015 World Screen Top Stories

PARIS: Lagardère Entertainment has become a majority shareholder in the TV and film distributor DIFFA (International Distribution of Films and Fiction from Africa).

DIFFA, launched three years ago, has a catalogue of 500 hours of programs and a network of 24 producers from a dozen African countries. Lagardère Entertainment, now majority owner in the company, has announced the upcoming opening of two offices: one in Abidjan and the other in Johannesburg.

"Lagardère Entertainment's positioning in Africa coincides with the growing need for content on the continent," said Takis Candilis, the president of Lagardère Entertainment and of DIFFA. "We wish to offer the production means capable of responding to this demand, and accompany the growth of the audiovisual market. We are very pleased that Alain Modot—whose first-rate knowledge of the African market is unanimously recognized—is joining our group."

"The new DIFFA is a synergy of shared goals and values dedicated to African creation," added Alain Modot, the managing director of DIFFA.

Jean-Hubert Nankam, the managing director of Martika Production, added: "With the diversification of its productions, our continent will step forward, show itself as it is, and take center stage with pride. The rise in demand for content produced by African professionals must be accompanied by structures created by people from a range of backgrounds, all who believe in this potential. Along with other initiatives providing a structure for these new opportunities, the new DIFFA—besides an immediate increase in revenue from the market it enables and the support it facilitates for its members' productions—will help in building a pan-African community of producers who exchange, share and develop common values and best practices. These are major issues in a sector that is a shared passion for all involved."