In mid-January the French media group Mediawan announced it had bought a majority stake in Palomar (read our article here). Italy’s largest independent producer, Palomar sold 53% of its capital during an initial acquisition phase, finalized at the end of February and announced in a press release.
By the end of the second stage, Mediawan will own 72% of the Italian company’s capital, known among other things for its series broadcast on Rai, Il Commissario Montalbano. The remaining capital will be held by Palomar’s founder and CEO, Carlo Degli Esposti. The statement said that the second phase of acquisition will be “in the coming weeks with the issuance of approximately 680,000 Mediawan shares.”
This is the French group’s first acquisition abroad. “This milestone marks the starting point for the group’s international expansion,” according to a management statement. “Our ambition is to strengthen European synergies in co-production and co-distribution.”
The Italian company itself is currently in a good shape: The Name of the Rose, a series based on Umberto Eco’s eponymous book and co-produced by Palomar, was broadcast in France in early March and its film La paranza dei Bambini received the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlin Film Festival.
Sources: Satellifax, https://www.capital.fr
