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RedBird IMI, the US-based investment group run by Jeff Zucker and Gerry Cardinale, has emerged as frontrunner to buy All3Media, the UK TV and film production business behind Fleabag and Call The Midwife.
The private equity group is in advanced talks with US media groups Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global to acquire All3Media in a deal worth about £1bn, according to several people familiar with the conversations. Warner Bros and Liberty acquired the company in 2014 for £550mn.
The deal could enter exclusive negotiations before Christmas, one of these people added. However, several of them cautioned that a final deal had yet to be struck, adding that some previous advanced discussions for the business had come to nothing and other groups were still interested.
All3Media has attracted interest from rival companies including Banijay, the French TV production group, Goldman Sachs, Sony and The North Road Company, a studio run by former Fox Group boss Peter Chernin.
If successful, the deal would underscore the ambitions of RedBird IMI to invest in the UK, where it has already agreed to buy the Telegraph newspaper and Spectator magazine.
That deal has been held up by regulatory scrutiny from the UK media watchdog, which has been asked by government ministers to look at potential press freedom issues surrounding an owner that derives most of its funding from Abu Dhabi.
IMI, the Abu Dhabi entity that owns 75 per cent of RedBird IMI, is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates vice-president who owns Manchester City football club.
All3Media is unlikely to draw the same scrutiny, however, with the Telegraph and Spectator attracting particular attention given the number of rival newspaper owners vying to buy the titles and their importance to the Conservative party.
All3Media, which is run by Jane Turton, produces and sells other hit shows around the world, such as Gogglebox and The Traitors.
The business reported its best ever year in 2022, with revenues reaching more than £1bn and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £100mn.
Redbird IMI, Liberty, All3Media and Warner Bros declined to comment.
Analysts had expected ITV to buy All3Media given that the two companies have a common shareholder in John Malone’s Liberty. The combination would have made strategic sense for ITV, which wants to expand its independent production business. However, the broadcaster walked away from the talks this summer, with people close to the situation citing a reluctance among its investors to back such a large asking price.
