Mediawan and LEONINE Studios have joined forces to form one of the leading independent studios in Europe, with a presence in 13 countries, a catalogue of 30,000 hours of premium content and an annual turnover of over one billion euros. This combination expands Mediawan's presence in the attractive German-speaking market and strengthens its diversification across different regions, genres and businesses. The transaction, which will be realised through a share swap, promotes closer cooperation and strengthens the position of both companies in the production and distribution of audiovisual content.

Munich/Paris (ots) -

• The merger creates one of the leading independent studios in Europe with a global presence in 13 countries, 85 labels, a catalogue of around 30,000 hours of premium content and sales of more than EUR 1 billion
• Market entry for Mediawan in the highly attractive German-speaking market for audiovisual content
• Further diversification of Mediawan across regions, customers, genres and business areas

Mediawan and LEONINE Studios ("LEONINE") today announced the signing of an agreement on the merger of the two companies. The transaction will take the form of a share transaction in which the remaining shares of LEONINE will be contributed to Mediawan. The merger will promote even closer cooperation between the two companies and establish Mediawan as a leading studio with a global presence in 13 countries, with 85 labels, a programme catalogue of around 30,000 hours of premium content and a turnover of over 1 billion euros. Mediawan and LEONINE's existing partnership dates back to 2020, when Mediawan acquired a stake of approximately 25 % in LEONINE, laying the foundation for the successful collaboration between the two companies.

With this transaction, Mediawan expands its European presence to the attractive German-speaking region, the second largest market for audiovisual content in Europe. LEONINE's award-winning production brands will become part of Mediawan's international network of producers, coordinated by Elizabeth d'Arvieu, CEO of Mediawan Pictures. This will further expand Mediawan's talent pool in the field of scripted content production. In addition, the merger with LEONINE diversifies Mediawan's activities across different regions, clients and business areas, including LEONINE's extensive licensing catalogue of over 4,000 titles, as well as LEONINE's strong positioning in distribution with its successful cinema, home entertainment and audio business.

LEONINE was founded in 2019 by Fred Kogel and his management team with financial support from KKR and Atwater Capital through the acquisition of TMG, Universum Film, i&u TV and Wiedemann & Berg Film. This was followed by the acquisitions of W&B Television, SEO Entertainment, hyperbole, Beetz Brothers Film Production and Toon2Tango. In just five years, LEONINE has developed into one of the largest integrated and independent media companies in the production, distribution and licensing sector in the German-speaking region, attracting the most successful talents and production brands in the region. LEONINE has produced nationally and internationally successful and critically acclaimed titles such as "Das Leben der Anderen", "Die Schule der magischen Tiere", "Dark", "Der Greif", "Crooks", "Juan Carlos - Liebe, Geld, Betrayal" and "The Cleaners" and owns the rights to blockbuster titles such as the "John Wick" franchise, "The Tributes of Panem - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", "Knives Out", "Everything, Everywhere All At Once" and "The Zone of Interest".

The merger of Mediawan and LEONINE follows the strategy of creating a pan-European studio with a growing global presence, with the aim of attracting the best creative talent and inspiring them with first-class content. The group is now present in 13 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux and the UK in Europe as well as Africa, Asia and the US. Mediawan is the creative force and producer of some of the world's most recognised and successful IPs, including "Call My Agent!", "Miraculous - Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir", "Rhythm + Flow: Nouvelle École", "3 Body Problem", "The Agency", "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story", "IPH", "Two in a Day" and "Bob Marley: One Love".

With Pierre-Antoine Capton as CEO of Mediawan Group, Fred Kogel will continue to lead LEONINE's business in German-speaking countries with LEONINE's existing management team while joining the Executive Committee of Mediawan. Mediawan is controlled by co-founders Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse and is financially backed by KKR and other long-term partners.

Pierre-Antoine Capton said: "By joining forces with LEONINE Studios, we have reached an important milestone in Mediawan's strategy to create a pan-European studio with a strong presence in all core markets. I am delighted to welcome Fred Kogel and the entire LEONINE team who have built a leading independent studio over the years. Together we will create an even more attractive platform for creative talent and strengthen our position as a leading studio for premium content across all genres."

Fred Kogel added: "In five years, we have built a leading integrated and independent media group in the German-speaking world and a home for some of the best talent in the industry. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all LEONINE employees over the past years. Our merger with Mediawan to create a pan-European powerhouse is the next step and will bring many benefits and exciting opportunities to our partners and customers in Germany, the US and beyond. I look forward to continuing to pursue our ambitious growth strategy together with Mediawan, LEONINE's strong management team and our dedicated employees."

Philipp Freise, Co-Head of European Private Equity at KKR, commented: "It has been a great pleasure to support Pierre-Antoine Capton and Fred Kogel in building two independent audiovisual content powerhouses in Europe. KKR's investments in Mediawan and LEONINE build on a long tradition of working with great entrepreneurs developing and scaling talent- and IP-focused business models. We look forward to remaining committed to Pierre-Antoine Capton and Fred Kogel and continuing to support Mediawan in the next phase of its impressive growth trajectory."

The completion of the transaction is still subject to antitrust approval by the responsible authorities in Germany and Austria as well as further regulatory procedures.

About Mediawan

Founded at the end of 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, Mediawan is one of Europe's leading independent audiovisual content production studios. The group brings together the best talents in the production sector and is active across the entire value chain: Production of fiction and non-fiction material, documentaries, feature films and animated films with more than 70 production labels in France, Germany (partnership with LEONINE Studios since 2020), England, Italy, Spain, USA, Netherlands, Finland and Senegal (Mediawan Studios), distribution of audiovisual content (Mediawan Rights, LS Distribution and Telmondis Distribution) and the distribution of channels and digital services (Mediawan Thematics) as well as the development and production of digital content (Mediawan Digital).

About LEONINE Studios

LEONINE Studios is one of Germany's leading independent media companies - the one-stop shop for premium content. We work with outstanding creative talent to create content that inspires audiences around the world.

Together, the LEONINE Studios companies produce, co-produce, distribute and licence premium content - covering the entire value chain of the content business. We produce films, series and content for social media - from entertainment to infotainment, from fiction to non-fiction.

LEONINE Studios' production companies are run by award-winning producers - including the premium production brands beetz brothers film production | hyperbole | i&u TV | Madame Zheng Production | Odeon Fiction | SEO Entertainment | W&B Television | Wiedemann & Berg Film | Toon2Tango.

LEONINE Studios distributes and licences content for cinemas, home entertainment, TV channels and social media channels. The market-leading licence library includes programmes of all formats and genres.LEONINE Studios is independent and offers all players in the media industry a premium content offering.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investor providing alternative asset management, capital markets and insurance solutions. Its focus is on generating attractive investment returns through a long-term and disciplined investment approach, employing highly skilled professionals and supporting growth in its assets and the communities in which it operates. KKR finances funds that invest in private equity, credit products, real assets and, through strategic partners, hedge funds. KKR's insurance subsidiaries offer pension, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR's investments may also refer to the activities of funds managed by KKR and its insurance subsidiaries. For more information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit the KKR website at www.kkr.com. For more information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit the Global Atlantic Financial Group website at www.globalatlantic.com.

Press contact:

LEONINE Studios
Henriette Gutmann
SVP Corporate Communication & Sales Marketing, LEONINE Studios
Tel: +49 89 999 513-0
e-mail: communication@leoninestudios.com

KKR
FGS Global
e-mail: kkr_germany@fgsglobal.com

Mediawan
Quitterie Lemasson - Head of Communication Mediawan - qlemasson@mediawan.eu
Caroline Guillot - Head of Communication Mediawan Pictures - c.guillot@mediawan.eu

Original content by: LEONINE Studios transmitted by news aktuell