Banijay buys majority stake in Tooco to bring French formats prodco into portfolio

European production and distribution firm Banijay has added French format production company Tooco to its group.

Aurélien Lipiansky

A specialist in the creation, development and management of new formats, the brand will focus on originating concepts for the French and international markets as part of Banijay France.

Led by Aurélien Lipiansky and Mikaël Moreau, Tooco is behind French format Guess My Age which has travelled to 22 territories so far.

More recently, it was behind Le Club des Invincibles, produced in partnership with Banijay’s Air Production.

Since its inception in 2015, the label has been diverse in its offerings, spanning gameshows, entertainment, factual entertainment and reality TV.

François de Brugada

Banijay Rights will now distribute the company’s formats globally. The deal sees Banijay buy out a majority stake in Tooco previously acquired by TF1-owned Newen Studios.

Lipiansky, Tooco president, said: “Mikaël and I are proud to be joining Banijay, which has long understood the importance of investing in French format creation, and we hope to benefit from the power and sales force of the group internationally to travel our ideas worldwide. This is a strong challenge, a logical continuation for Tooco and we are delighted to start this new adventure.”

François de Brugada, president of Banijay France, added: “Tooco is a fantastic addition to our French portfolio. Aurélien and Mikaël are among the best format creators in our country, and we are proud to support and provide a home for them, where they can lean on a world-class global network of producers to travel their shows. Our brands have long transcended borders, and we have no doubt, with these two, there is a new generation of hits just on the horizon.”