NENT Group closes sale of 12 production labels to Fremantle
Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), one of the world’s fastest growing streaming companies, has completed the sale of 12 production labels to Fremantle. The sale completes NENT Group’s planned divestments of studio assets. The company’s remaining studios operations, recently reorganised and rebranded as Viaplay Studios, are focused on delivering original content for its fast-growing Viaplay streaming service. Viaplay will be available in at least 16 countries by the end of 2023.
Announced in July, the agreement with Fremantle covers 12 labels in four Nordic countries that operate across non-scripted, scripted and factual businesses: Strong Productions (Denmark); Grillifilms, Moskito Television and Production House (Finland); Monster, Novemberfilm, One Big Happy Family, Playroom, Rakett and Strix Televisjon (Norway); and Baluba and Strix Television (Sweden).
Fremantle is one of the world’s largest creators, producers and distributors across the three content pillars of entertainment, drama and film, and documentaries. With a footprint spanning 26 territories, the company’s original programming includes more than 12,700 hours and it distributes over 30,000 hours of content in more than 180 territories.
Gabriel Catrina, NENT Group EVP & Chief Financial Officer: “This agreement with Fremantle secures a great home for these businesses and we wish them all the best. We have completed the divestment of all the studios assets that we had planned for. Viaplay Studios, with its fantastic slate of upcoming productions, will now play a key role in fuelling Viaplay’s growth in our Nordic and international markets over the coming years.”
The deal has received approval from the relevant regulators. The transaction will give rise to a positive net cashflow impact of approximately SEK 410 million and a negative results impact on discontinued operations, as an item affecting comparability, of approximately SEK -40 million including transaction costs. The impact will be reported in NENT Group’s Q3 financial results presented on 26 October.
The sale of NENT Group’s UK distribution business (formerly known as DRG) to All3Media was completed in June; the sale of Splay One to Caybon in April; and the sale of Strix Benelux to Monday Media in December 2020.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Nordic Entertainment Group AB (publ) (NENT Group)’s Viaplay streaming service is available in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Viaplay will launch in the US in 2021 and the Netherlands and the UK in 2022, followed by Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland by the end of 2023. We operate streaming services, TV channels, radio stations and production companies, and our purpose is to tell stories, touch lives and expand worlds. Headquartered in Stockholm with a global perspective, NENT Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘NENT B’).
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