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ITV buys Talpa for $530m

UK broadcaster ITV has paid £355m (US$531.7m) to acquire John de Mol’s Talpa Media, the Dutch production company behind formats including The Voice, Utopia and I Love My Country.

The Voice

The Voice

The move, which confirms earlier speculation, is considered initial payment to Talpa. The final total could rise to £781m, dependent on the Dutch company hitting profit-growth targets over the next eight years and de Mol staying on board for that time.

It means de Mol, plus his senior management and creatives, will continue to have a key role in formats creation and development, working exclusively for Talpa alongside ITV Studios MD Kevin Lygo and his team.

Talpa previously appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch as an advisor after receiving a number of approaches from suitors interested in buying it in September last year. 21st Century Fox and FremantleMedia were named as possible interested parties in the Dutch press, while rumours of interest from China abounded, with Zheijang TV airing its own version of The Voice produced together with Star China. However, ITV ultimately prevailed.

“Of all the potential partners for Talpa, there’s no doubt ITV is the best fit,” said Big Brother creator de Mol. “When it comes to the importance of content, the strategy of both successful companies is exactly the same and for Talpa this represents a fantastic opportunity for strong further growth. It also enables me personally to concentrate and focus even more on creating new, ground-breaking content.”

Adam Crozier

Adam Crozier

ITV CEO Adam Crozier said the acquisition marked “a great opportunity for ITV to accelerate its progress in building a global content business of scale.”

“Great content is at the heart of ITV’s growth strategy, and the acquisition of Talpa builds on the success of our international content business and is absolutely in line with our desire to create and own formats that travel,” Crozier added. “John de Mol and his team have an incredible track record of doing that consistently over many years and I’m delighted to welcome them to the ITV family.”

According to ITV, the 2014 financial year saw Talpa generate €233m (US$247m) revenue from productions, format fees and new revenue sources, delivering €61m EBITA.

The transaction will be financed through existing cash resources and new debt facilities, and is expected to close during the second quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

The deal is the latest in an aggressive buying spree for ITV, which has seen the commercial broadcaster purchase several US and UK prodos during the last two years.

It paid US$360m for a controlling stake in Pawn Stars producer Leftfield Entertainment in May 2014.

That followed the purchases of Duck Dynasty creator Gurney Productions, High Noon Entertainment, Hatfields & McCoys creator Thinkfactory Media and Diga Vision.

An undisclosed amount was also invested in Zealot Networks, the US digital content business founded by ex-Maker Studios CEO Danny Zappin, in December.

ITV had previously taken minority stakes in Indigenous Media, the Culver City-based producer of scripted digital series, and New York-based Believe Entertainment, which works with advertisers to create multiplatform and digital-branded entertainment.

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