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Kew enters administration, directors quit

Peter Sussman

The receivers have been called in at Canada’s ill-fated Kew Media Group and all the directors have resigned. Exec VP of global scripted TV Carrie Stein has also exited the firm.

Following an order by the Ontario Superior Court confirmed yesterday, FTI Consulting Canada has been appointed to manage the affairs of the stricken production and distribution company and try to sell its assets to repay creditors.

Among the directors to quit are founder and chairman Peter Sussman and founder and CEO Steven Silver, who jointly launched the company back in 2017.

Steven Silver

The other Kew directors who resigned were David Fleck, Maish Kagan, Patrice Merrin, Stephen Pincus, John Schmidt and Mark Segal.

The move follows Kew’s main creditor, US-based Truist Bank, yesterday issuing an enforcement notice under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Kew also told staff arriving for work on Friday morning at its LA office they were being laid off.

In addition, Kew’s UK-based subsidiaries Kew Media International, Kew Media Group UK and Kew Media Group UK Holdings were also placed into administration by FTI Consulting, although none of Kew’s production companies are subject to the receivership or UK administration.

Carrie Stein

Stein, who joined Kew back in 2017 as a high-profile appointment to boost its international drama production, confirmed her departure yesterday. Prior to Kew, Stein worked at eOne, 3 Arts Entertainment and Alchemy Television.

Yesterday also saw Frantic Films CEO Jamie Brown announce he had completed a management buyout of the firm Kew initially purchased back in 2017.

Frantic was the latest firm to beat a hasty retreat from Kew following Dance Moms producer Collins Avenue, Scottish outfit Two Rivers, and London-based distributor TCB Media, which C21 exclusively revealed was negotiating a potential sale or management buyout in January that is now in its final stages.

Jamie Brown

Kew ran into difficulties at the end of 2019 when it announced that financial statements from chief financial officer Geoff Webb contained inaccurate information with regards to working capital.

Webb left Kew and internal investigations were launched. Last month, the company was forced to withdraw from the Toronto Stock Exchange when auditor Grant Thornton withdrew previously released reports on the firm owing to an “inability to rely on representations he [Webb] made to Grant Thornton in the course of its audits and review of Kew’s financial statements.”

Kew acquired 10 production companies, including Content Media Corp (CMC), prior to its public launch in March 2017 by Sussman and Silver. Bristow Global Media, CMC and Sienna Films are among the firms still under the umbrella of the troubled outfit, which also holds a minority stake in Awesome Media & Entertainment.

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