Mediawan in advanced talks to buy Peter Chernin’s production outfit North Road
Peter Chernin (left) and Pierre-Antoine Capton
French media giant Mediawan is in advanced talks to acquire Peter Chernin’s international film and TV production group The North Road Company.
Bloomberg was the first to report on the negotiations, which are said to be in the final stages. Potential financial terms are unclear, but reports indicate North Road is valued at well over US$500m.
The deal would add significant heft to Mediawan’s operation in the US, where it is already the majority owner of Brad Pitt’s production studio Plan B Entertainment.
North Road was formed in 2022 after Chernin’s existing entertainment empire, The Chernin Group, acquired the US assets of Red Arrow Studios for around US$200m.
At launch, North Road also raised US$500m of equity financing from private equity investment firm Providence Equity Partners, with Apollo Advisors providing US$300m of debt financing. Six months later, it received a US$150m investment from the Qatar Investment Authority.
Production companies sitting under the North Road banner include Kinetic Content, producer of Netflix franchise Love is Blind, as well as Chernin Entertainment and Words + Pictures.
The company has also made several acquisitions outside the US, including Turkish prodco Karga Seven Pictures and Mexico-based Perro Azul, in addition to building its American production footprint with investments in Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, Two One Five Entertainment and Little Room Films.
While North Road has made several acquisitions over the past few years, there has also been a high level of turnover in key positions. Former Showtime boss David Nevins, who was brought in as CEO, left in summer 2024 after less than a year. Other highly regarded execs, including Kristin Jones, Caroline Hollick and Jan Frouman, have come and gone amid several apparent strategy shifts.
Key forthcoming scripted series from Chernin Entertainment include a historical drama exploring the triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy family, as well as a series adaptation of Man on Fire, both for Netflix. The prodco also produced Jason Momoa-led drama Chief of War for Apple TV.
The potential Mediawan-North Road deal comes on the heels of news that Banijay and All3Media are exploring a tie-up. In recent years, the major European players have emphasised the need for further consolidation between the major producer/distributor groups to give them added scale and leverage in negotiations with global streaming players.
“[Consolidation] matters in this industry because we are working more and more with global clients like Netflix, Amazon etc, which are giants. If you want to work well with giants you have to be big – you cannot be small,” Banijay Group CEO François Riahi told investors last year during an earnings call.
Mediawan, which is led by CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton and backed by private equity firms KKR and Atwater Capital, has also been a major consolidator in the European market over the past few years, most notably with its full acquisition of Germany’s Leonine in April 2024.
At the time, the combination created a powerhouse with 85 production labels across 13 countries. In March 2025, it acquired a majority stake in UK- and Australia-based producer See-Saw Films. Series produced across the Mediawan group include The Count of Monte Cristo and Call My Agent.
On the distribution side, Mediawan made a significant move in October, relocating its operation to London and hiring former All3Media exec Sally Habbershaw to lead.
Mediawan and The North Road Company have not yet commented on the deal reports.
