StudioCanal ups stake in Sam Productions, consolidates Meta Film and A&M

Sam Productions has produced shows including Borgen

StudioCanal, the in-house production and distribution arm of French pay TV operator Canal+, is increasing its stake in Scandinavian prodco Sam Productions to 51%.

Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen

At the same time, it is consolidating Sam Productions, which has produced shows including The Chestnut Man, Borgen, Ragnarok and The Orchestra, with fellow Scandinavian production outfits Meta Film and A&M Productions.

Adam Price and Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen will both retain a 24.5% shareholding in Sam Productions. Price previously co-owned A&M with Foldager Sørensen, who solely owned Meta Film.

A&M is behind unscripted titles including The Opera Journey, Iconic Meals with Adam Price and The Man in the Hole, while feature film-focused Meta Film made Border, Summer ’92, Second Victims and the Ulrik Torp franchise.

Adam Price

StudioCanal, which owns 23 production companies across Europe and US, in addition to its in-house operation, said the goal of the consolidation is to “exploit the strategic advantages of being a larger, unified company.” It added that the combination of the companies, which operate across Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo, will not lead to any changes to daily operations, staffing or the projects they produce.

The move comes 12 years after StudioCanal set up Sam Productions in partnership with Price, Sorein Sveistrup (The Killing) and Foldager Sørensen. At the time of its launch, the company was equally owned by the four parties. Sveistrup, a prolific screenwriter and executive producer, exited the company in 2024.

“We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Adam Price and Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen through this new chapter for Sam Productions,” said Anna Marsh, who serves as CEO of StudioCanal as well as chief content officer at Canal+.

Anna Marsh

“It has been a privilege to work alongside them for more than a decade, building a company that has become home to some of the most exciting creative talent in the Nordics. This new structure gives us an even stronger foundation for the future, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.”

Price said: “I am very excited about our Nordic roll-out as one company. It is a joy to work together with our Swedish and Norwegian teams to develop stories with a strong Nordic DNA for an international audience. Several new series and films are underway – and I’m looking forward to continuing the journey with Meta and StudioCanal.”

Foldager Sørensen added: “I can’t wait to begin this new chapter of my professional life and our international collaboration. I see a lot of new opportunities and challenges, that I am looking forward to exploring and diving into with our strengthened structure to support our new adventures.”