The All3Media sale story ended after nearly a year with Redbird IMI confirming its acquisition Traitors superindie from Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global for £1.15 billion ($1.45 billion)
Jeff Zucker and Jerry Cardinale’s RedBird IMI takes control of a portfolio of 50 brands with production entities around the world that own the likes of Flea bag brothers photo maker, Traitors Producer Studio Lambert and 1917 Neil Street.
All3Media CEO Gene Turton and Chief Operating Officer Sarah Jeter will continue to lead the company, Redbird said.
“All3Media is one of the great content companies in the world, and this gives us a great platform to continue growing our expanding portfolio,” Zucker said. “The demand for new shows and ongoing existing series, both scripted and unscripted, makes All3 a perfect fit for us.”
Turton added: “Joining forces with Jeff and the RedBird IMI team is an exciting next step for us as we continue to build All3Media. Our strategy remains to work with the world’s best talent, developing and producing high-quality, grassroots programming, and RedBird IMI’s support and investment will be key in helping us to Making it happen. I’m very proud of everything we’ve built over the past few years, and I look forward to working with the RedBird IMI team as we take this important next step.
The private equity group emerged in first place late last year, at which point former front-runner Banijay withdrew from the race. At that point, it seemed like a deal might be reached quickly, but we heard there were delays over recent weeks as RedBird executives negotiated with All3’s parents.
Redbird is 75% owned by Abu Dhabi and was established in 2022. RedBird Capital, which holds the other stake, has a roster that includes Skydance Media, YES Network, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity. RedBird also teamed up with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia to purchase the XFL from bankruptcy. RedBird IMI has already made its entry into the UK by attempting to acquire RedBird IMI telegraph And Viewer magazines, although regulators have halted this amid intense scrutiny of British media ownership rules.
All eyes are now on how Redbird looks to retool the indie super-game run by Turton.
WBD and Liberty will be happy with the final sale price. The outfit went on sale last year for a valuation of around £1bn, and bidders included ITV, which had to go public, Banijay, Peter Chernin’s North Road and a private equity offer from Goldman Sachs. Some bidders have rejected All3Media’s very large debt pile, amounting to around £760m.
All3Media’s revenue rose 17% to £1 billion ($1.3 billion) last year, as we revealed in late June. EBITDA rose by a similar proportion to £100 million and total group operating profit rose from £26 million to £40 million.