Acorn Media Buys into Agatha Christie Literary Estate

SILVER SPRING: Acorn Media has purchased a 64-percent stake in Agatha Christie Limited from Chorion, giving it majority ownership of the iconic characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, among many others.

Agatha Christie has sold more than 2 billion books, following only The Bible and William Shakespeare as the most widely published books of all time. Acorn Media now has majority ownership of Christie’s extensive works, including more than 80 novels and short-story collections, 19 plays, some 40 TV movies and a stable of iconic characters. The Agatha Christie family retains its 36-percent holding, and Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie’s grandson, remains the chairman of Agatha Christie Limited.

Miguel Penella, the CEO of Acorn Media, said, “This development, along with our purchase of Foyle’s War in 2010 and last year’s launch of Acorn TV, the first British TV-focused streaming service, signal the new prominence of Acorn Media Group as the most forward looking distributor of British television in North America. We see this acquisition as a key step in the company’s continued evolution into content ownership and television production, and look forward to working with Mathew and James Prichard and the Agatha Christie family for years to come.”

Prichard added, “My family and I are delighted to be forming a new partnership with Acorn Media, which I am sure will continue the successful history of the company, and produce much more Agatha Christie material for fans everywhere, particularly in the U.S. I remain grateful to my colleagues at Chorion for nearly 13 years of fruitful partnership.”

Peter Edwards, Acorn Media Group’s chairman, commented, “This is a momentous occasion for Acorn Media and a gratifying one for me personally. While we are keenly aware of the financial and strategic worth of this transaction for Acorn Media, we are also grateful to partner with the Agatha Christie family in the promoting and protecting of their family legacy.”