Shed finalises Wall to Wall buy-out

UK superindie Shed Media has agreed terms for the acquisition of Who Do You Think You Are? producer Wall to Wall after confirming earlier this week that it was in advanced negotiations with the company.

Shed will pay £25m (US$51.6m) for Wall to Wall, as expected, with £20m up front and a further £5m depending on the firm hitting performance-related targets.

Alex Graham, Wall to Wall’s co-founder and chief executive, will join Shed’s board as an executive director and pick up £5.7m of shares as part of the deal.

The valuation is based on revenue of £19.5m in the 12 months to June 30 and earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization of £2m. Shed said today it expected the acquisition to generate returns in 2008.

Wall to Wall International, the indie’s distribution arm, will now be integrated into Outright Distribution which was recently acquired by Shed.

Shed, behind BBC1 drama Waterloo Road and the forthcoming Rock Rivals on ITV1, said Wall to Wall was an “excellent fit” alongside its Shed Productions division, and recent acquisitions Ricochet, Twenty Twenty and Outright Distribution.

“Wall to Wall has some of the most successful television brands around and Alex Graham, who joins the Shed board with immediate effect, will make a great contribution to growing the group,” said Shed CEO Eileen Gallagher.

Graham is understood to have been reluctant to sell the company he founded in 1987. Today he said: “What I like about Shed is that it understands that commercial success is built on long-running programme brands and I’m looking forward to playing my part in creating the next generation of hit Shed shows.”

The announcement came as Shed reported full-year results showing a 10% rise in pre-tax profit to £8.5m on the back of turnover that remained static at £43.6m.

C21 exclusively revealed news of the Wall to Wall acquisition at Mipcom last month although at the time both parties refused to confirm the talks.