Discovery Communications and Liberty Global said they have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture partnership to acquire All3Media, an international producer and distributor of award-winning TV programming, from its founders and the Permira funds for about $930 million.
All3Media, with headquarters in London, is the largest independent production group in the U.K. and has a strong presence in the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Its top shows include Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Undercover Boss, Skins, The White Queen, U.K. scripted reality show The Only Way Is Essex and Cash Cab New York. The company has about 8,000 hours of library content across all genres, including drama, comedy, factual and factual entertainment programming. For the fiscal year ended in August 2013, All3Media generated about $855 million in revenue.
“This venture allows us to work closely with Liberty Global, a valued partner and the largest international cable company, in managing a financially strong, innovative and creatively prolific production company,” said Discovery CEO David Zaslav in a statement. “We are very excited to support All3Media’s talented management team as they continue their steady growth around the world.”
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