Gibson Dunn, Macfarlanes, and Kirkland & Ellis have all taken roles as Traitors producer All3Media combines with European powerhouse Banijay Entertainment to form the world’s largest independent TV production group.
The deal will see All3Media, owned by RedBird IMI, a joint venture backed by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners and Abu Dhabi-based IMI media group, unite with Banijay Entertainment to form a media giant.
Gibson Dunn is advisingAll3Media and its owner RedBird IMI, with a cross-border team led by New York-based private equity co-chair Richard Birns and partner Stefan dePozsgay, and includes London partner Will Summers, Paris partner Bertrand Delaunay, and Los Angeles-based Steve Tsoneff.
New York and Washington DC-based tax practice group co-chair Eric Sloan and London partner James Chandler are advising on tax aspects, and London-based European leveraged and acquisition finance head David Irvine and partner Kavita Davis are advising on financing.
Meanwhile, Paris-headquartered Banijay Group was advised by Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier, Macfarlanes, and BDGS Associés, with Kirkland advising on financing.
Macfarlanes’ team included M&A partner Harry Coghill, head of commercial Will Hedges, corporate partner Rosie Duckworth, and competition partner Malcolm Walton, all in London, as well as Brussels-based antitrust partner Foad Hoseinian.
Kirkland fielded a London-based team comprised of debt finance partners Evgeny Zborovsky and Philipp Engel, and capital markets partners Cedric Van den Borren and William Taylor.
The combined group – which will be called Banijay – will be jointly owned by Banijay Group and Redbird IMI, with each holding a 50% stake. The combined earnings will be consolidated into the wider Banijay Group, listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
Banijay Entertainment is home to hits such as MasterChef, Survivor, Pointless and Big Brother, with All3Media’s stable including The Traitors, Call the Midwife and Fleabag.
The group will encompass over 170 creative labels distributing content in nearly 25 countries.
Banijay Group CEO Francois Riahi commented: ‘This transaction represents a decisive step in Banijay Group’s strategy to reinforce its leading position in global entertainment.’
‘In all our businesses, we are leading consolidation, and this transaction is another demonstration of this in content production,’ he added.
The deal marks another major media combination after Paramount’s $108bn hostile bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, which is moving ahead after Netflix dropped its earlier $83bn bid last week.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the deal is set to close by autumn 2026.
