Banijay closes deal to complete takeover of Australia’s Beyond International

European production group Banijay has completed the acquisition of Beyond International Limited, taking full control of the Australian company’s production and distribution business worldwide.

Marco Bassetti

Banijay has finished all necessary shareholder and court approvals for the deal, first announced in October, plus the customary closing conditions, with the group now beginning the integration process. It sees Beyond shareholders receiving A$0.77 (US£0.52) cash per share.

The deal is rumoured to be worth more than US$30m. Beyond has offices in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the US, where it produces more than 5,000 hours of TV content including science shows MythBusters (Discovery Channel) and White Rabbit Project (Netflix), plus reality series My Lottery Dream Home (HGTV).

Beyond will cease to be publicly traded and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Banijay – absorbed into the company’s portfolio of more than 120 prodcos across 22 territories, boosting a catalogue of around 130,000 hours of programming.

The October announcement about the acquisition was made by Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti.

“As content demand continues to soar, catalogue remains key and in acquiring Beyond, we would take our offering up considerably,” said Bassetti at the time. “Primarily bolstering our IP and production portfolio in the English-language and factual space with Beyond’s complementary content the deal can enhance our position as a leading go-to for clients and commercial partners alike.”

Beyond International MD and CEO Michael Borgland also issued a statement welcoming the merger.

“The Beyond board is very much supportive of the deal,” he said in October. “Joining a leading global business like this is a very exciting opportunity for us and we look forward to collaborating on newfound opportunities ahead.”