Germany’s Night Train Media acquires majority stake in Eccho Rights from CJ ENM

Germany-based financing and coproduction company Night Train Media has bought Swedish distribution firm Eccho Rights from Korea’s CJ ENM.

Fredrik af Malmborg

The deal sees Night Train acquire CJ ENM’s majority stake in the company for an undisclosed fee, with Eccho Rights continuing to operate as an independent brand within Night Train.

CEO Fredrik af Malmborg will remain at the helm of Eccho Rights, while Night Train CEO Herbert L Kloiber will assume the role of chairman of Eccho Rights’ board.

Handan Özkubat will continue as director of Turkish Drama and digital operations, as will Adam Barth, Eccho Rights’ director of coproduction, development and acquisitions. The company’s co-founder, Nicola Söderlund, will retire after 20 years.

Founded in February 2020, Night Train is backed by private equity company Serafin Group. It also owns a majority stake in Paul Heaney’s UK-based distribution company BossaNova.

News of the deal comes almost four years after Korea’s CJ ENM acquired the Swedish company as it looked to accelerate its global expansion in markets including Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.

Following CJ ENM’s acquisition of Endeavor Content’s scripted business earlier this year, there had been speculation the Korean firm would look to sell Eccho Rights.

Herbert L Kloiber

“We are impressed by Eccho Rights’ growth, not only by its sales of popular drama series from across the globe, but also by its strategic vision,” said Kloiber.

“Eccho’s key business areas are complementary and synergetic with Night Train Media’s. Combining our strengths could not come at a better time when even worldwide streamers are increasingly licensing content in selected territories. We are looking forward to supporting Eccho Rights in its growth plans and to closely working with this expert team.”

Malmborg added: “We share the same vision for the future of TV production and distribution, and having the support of Night Train, Eccho Rights will strengthen its position as the go-to partner for creators looking to retain their independence in an ever-consolidated industry.”

Eccho Rights has offices in Stockholm, Istanbul, London, Madrid and Seoul, and has a team of 40 people globally. The company licenses about 17,000 hours of drama each year and has around 10 million subscribers for its direct-to-consumer digital channel offerings.