Banijay Americas takes majority stake in Brazilian studio A Fábrica

Banijay Americas is continuing its push into Brazil by acquiring a majority stake in scripted-focused studio A Fábrica.

Ben Samek

The Rio de Janeiro-based outfit, launched in 2016, is behind shows such as long-running sitcom Vai Que Cola, which airs on Multishow and Globo, and upcoming Netflix comedy Sem Filtro.

A Fábrica was founded by CEO Luiz Noronha, chief content officer Renato Fagundes, producers Cecilia Grosso and Samanta Moraes and chief financial officer Alberto Elias, all of whom will remain in place. They will report to Laurens Drillich, president of Endemol Shine Latino.

With the majority acquisition, Banijay Americas’ portfolio of production companies expands to 10 across North and South America.

In the US, Banijay Americas has ownership stakes in Endemol Shine North America, Bunim/Murray Productions, Truly Original, 51 Minds Entertainment, Authentic Entertainment and Stephen David Entertainment, while in Latin America it has stakes in Endemol Shine Brasil (based in São Paulo), Mexico City-based Endemol Shine Boomdog and the recently opened Banijay Mexico & US Hispanic.

Banijay Americas, which is a division of Banijay, also recently opened Banijay Studios Brasil, a 750,000-square-foot production studio facility in Guarulhos as it looks to further expand its production pipeline.

Other TV projects produced by A Fábrica include procedural A Divisão, coproduced with Afroreggae Audiovisual, which is set to debut on Globoplay in 2023.

The company also has a large feature film operation and currently has eight movie projects in the pipeline, including comedy Cansei De Ser Nerd, produced with Hungry Man for Paramount Pictures.

In addition, it is currently producing four docuseries in the true crime space, including O Caso Henry, about a child’s murder that shocked Brazil a year ago, and original documentary Filho da Mãe for Amazon Prime Video.

International expansion is also top of mind for A Fábrica, which is in development on projects including Concrete Jungle, based on Edyr Augusto’s book of the same name and created by Renato Fagundes and W Peter lliff; The Yellow Passport, a feature film based on the book by Maha Mamo and directed by Bruno Barreto; and Haiti, a drama series based on real events.

Ben Samek, president and chief operating officer at Banijay Americas, said: “When we look at potential new partnerships and or acquisitions, we always start with a search for talented storytellers and strong leadership, and the team at A Fábrica was clearly at the top of that list.

“They have quickly established A Fábrica as Brasil’s go-to studio for the best in film and scripted content, and we are thrilled to have their team join our roster of world-class production studios in the Americas.”

Noronha added: “With the arrival of Banijay, we are guaranteed to grow with ever-increasing quality, both in terms of management and delivery capacity. We maintain flexibility in our business models and personalised customer service, reaffirming our commitment to originality and the results of our productions.”