Warner Bros. Buying Eyeworks

AMSTERDAM/LONDON/BURBANK: Warner Bros. Television Group has entered into a deal to acquire all of Eyeworks' businesses outside of the U.S., encompassing outfits in 15 countries.

Founded by Reinout Oerlemans in 2001 in the Netherlands, Eyeworks produces a broad range of scripted and unscripted content, with operations in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand and Australia. The deal adds 13 new territories to Warner Bros.'s network of production companies and encompasses Eyeworks' international distribution activities. Eyeworks USA will remain as an independent company, with Oerlemans as chairman. He will relinquish his role as CEO of Eyeworks once the deal is complete later this year, subject to regulatory approval.

"Our proposed acquisition of Eyeworks’ 15 local production companies represents a significant next step in our strategy, further strengthening Warner Bros.' position in global television," said Kevin Tsujihara, CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

In a joint statement, Jeffrey Schlesinger, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution, Craig Hunegs, president of business and strategy at Warner Bros. Television Group and Peter Roth, president and chief content officer at Warner Bros. Television Group, noted: “This is an important move for the Warner Bros. Television Group, as we establish local production companies around the world, each with a mandate to develop original local programming and adapt the output from the studio. We see Eyeworks as a strong complement to our existing U.S. and international production capabilities."

Warner Bros. International Television Production has been building out its network since the 2010 acquisition of Shed Media in the U.K. and the 2011 takeover of 
BlazHoffski in the Netherlands and Belgium.
 
Oerlemans said: "It’s fair to say that it got me thinking when Warner Bros. showed the strong interest in Eyeworks. For Eyeworks, this is a defining step towards our ongoing objective to be a major player in content production around the globe. I realize this is the end of an era, because I will no longer be the CEO of the Group, after an amazing period of 12.5 years since I’ve built the company from scratch together with Ronald van Wechem and Robert van den Bogaard. Together with CFO Jan Peter Kerstens we have created Eyeworks as what it is today: a creative and versatile content company, operating as a tight knit web around the world. I know Ronald Goes will be a tremendous leader for this fantastic group of talented people going forward."