Fremantle has entered into a conditional purchase agreement to acquire production studio Asacha Media Group and its portfolio of labels based in France, Italy and the UK.
The deal sees Fremantle acquire the Group from Asacha’s founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management
Asacha is made up of eight labels across scripted, unscripted and feature films. These labels are:
- Kabo Family (France)
- Mintee (France)
- Srab Films (France)
- Picomedia (Italy)
- Stand By Me (Italy)
- Arrow Media (UK)
- Red Planet Pictures (UK)
- Wag (UK)
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.
Headquartered in Paris, France, Asacha will continue to be run by Co-Founder and Group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac who will report to Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO Continental Europe, Andrea Scrosati. De Chavagnac will continue to be supported by Marina Williams, as Chief Content Officer of Asacha. The portfolio of labels in France, Italy and the UK will continue to report to de Chavagnac.
Since its creation in 2020, Asacha has seen rapid growth to become one of the leading independent production Groups in Europe. The slate of international IP from Asacha includes: Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise (Red Planet Pictures, BBC One); Mare Fuori and La Storia (Picomedia, Rai 1); Saint Omer (Srab Films); Cimetiere Indien (Mintee Studio, Canal Plus France); Don’t Pick up the Phone (Wag, Netflix / Paramount); Instagram’s Worst Con Artist (Wag, ITVX); See no Evil (Arrow Media, Discovery ID); Magic of Disney‘s Animal Kingdom (Arrow Media, Disney+ / Nat Geo); It’s Lunch Time (Stand By Me , Rai1); Diaries (Stand by Me, Netflix); Scènes de Ménages (Kabo) and General Men (Stand by Me, Rai 1).
Scrosati commented: “Fremantle is proud to be investing and partnering with the very best international creative talent. Gaspard de Chavagnac, Marina Williams, and Marc-Antoine d’Halluin and the incredible producers and talents that have created Asacha certainly fall into this category, and we are delighted they have chosen to join the Fremantle family. They have built an impressive portfolio of market-leading labels, each of which perfectly complements our existing businesses in each of their markets. This strategic deal underlines both companies’ ambitious growth targets, and we look forward to collaborating with their immensely talented creatives across the group.”
De Chavagnac said: “I am thrilled about this deal with Fremantle, one of the world’s leading studios for television and movie production. Fremantle will bring all its expertise and resources in premium content development and distribution, to accelerate the growth of our fantastic creative labels. I am very excited to pursue this exciting journey with Andrea Scrosati and all the Fremantle team. I also want to thank Oaktree for their support in our growth so far.”
Mario Adario, Asacha’s Chairman and Managing Director at Oaktree Capital Management, added: “In 2020, Oaktree launched, together with the management team, the Asacha Media Group platform with the acquisition of three production companies in France and Italy. In less than four years, Asacha has become a leader in the media industry under the stewardship of an exceptional team. We believe Fremantle is the right partner for the next chapter of Asacha’s growth.”