FremantleMedia buys into Miso

FremantleMedia has signed a deal to acquire a majority stake in leading Danish scripted production company Miso Film.

Under the agreement – financial terms of which are not disclosed – FremantleMedia will have a 51% holding with the opportunity to acquire the remaining shareholding in the future.

Founded in 2004 by the producer team Jonas Allen and Peter Bose, Miso focuses on high end prime-time TV series and films for the Scandinavian and larger European markets.

The firm has found success with its primetime scripted series across Scandinavia, most recently launching Dicte on TV2 Denmark, TV4 Sweden and TV2 Norway, with a second season of the series already in production.

It made its name with crime thrillers, such as Those Who Kill, which has been picked up by A&E Networks for a US remake.

Miso is currently producing the epic war drama TV series and film 1864, which is the largest production ever in Denmark with co-production support from some of the largest Scandinavian broadcasters including Denmarks Radio, TV2 Norge and TV4 Sweden.

On the big screen, it has produced the feature-length Danish thriller The Candidate; coproduced the Norwegian World War II resistance drama Max Manus – the biggest box-office success ever in Norway with 1.2 million admissions – and the English language feature film Ginger and Rosa. The company’s latest feature film Danny’s Doomsday is currently in post-production and will be ready for theatrical release in fall 2014.

“This is an important milestone in building our primetime scripted business and strengthening our position in the Scandinavian market,” said FremantleMedia CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz, who talked up her company’s ambitions in this space at Mipcom last month.

“Jonas and Peter’s talent and strong track record in producing high end drama, together with their current slate, makes Miso Film a perfect fit for FremantleMedia and complements our existing high end scripted business in the US, Germany and Australia.”

Fremantle acquired a minority stake in Divimove, the largest multi-channel network in Germany, in October while parent, European broadcast giant RTL Group, bought into Vancouver-based online video company BroadbandTV in July.