Newen buys into Pupkin, Nimbus

Nimbus Film’s The Bridge concluded with its fourth season

French production giant Newen has continued its expansion in Europe by taking stakes in the Danish producer of The Bridge and Dutch production outfit Pupkin.

Newen has acquired a 60% stake in Pupkin – which is currently producing Netflix’s first original Dutch drama – through its existing Dutch firm Tuvalu Media Group, in which it bought a majority stake in February last year.

Founded in 2003 and led by producers Pieter Kuijpers, Iris Otten and Sander van Meurs, Pupkin is one of the leading feature film and drama studios in the Netherlands.

In addition, Newen is taking a 33% stake in The Bridge producer Nimbus Film, having already paired with the firm on its latest drama, Northern Lights, earlier this year. New developments are already in the works, including an animated adaptation of the Antboy franchise led by Blue Spirit.

Nimbus Film was founded in 1993 by Bo Ehrhardt and Birgitte Hald and also initially built a reputation in feature films before moving into TV series such as landmark Nordic noir hit The Bridge.

Announcing the deals, Newen said the aim was to cross-fertilise talent, formats and relationships with local players while bolstering its own distribution slate.

Romain Bessi, deputy CEO of Newen, said: “Both of these production companies have achieved great success in their own countries and an international profile, and are a byword for quality.

“They will help us expand our footprint in dynamic, creative markets and to access new formats and talent, while also adding new content to our distribution network. These two deals, following our acquisition of Tuvalu in the Netherlands, mark a further step in our international expansion, a strategic priority for the Newen group.”

Newen’s European expansion follows its buyout by leading French commercial broadcaster TF1, which was completed in 2015. It has also since launched a London office with a war chest to invest in British drama projects.