TVA buys out Incendo for $15m

Quebecor Media’s TVA Group has acquired Canadian production and distribution outfit Incendo in a deal worth C$19.5m (US$15m).

France Lauzière

French-Canadian firm TVA has acquired all of the Montreal-based group’s companies.

Since its formation in 2001, Incendo has produced movies, television series and documentaries that have been sold throughout the world. In addition, it handles theatrical distribution in Quebec for Paramount Pictures and also has offices in Toronto and Los Angeles.

The deal follows TVA’s purchase of the Serdy Média and Serdy Vidéo group of companies for C$24m in May last year. That move saw TVA Group add two speciality channels, Évasion and Zeste, to its line-up.

France Lauzière, president and CEO of TVA, said: “TVA Group is happy to add Incendo, a local company with an international profile known for its excellent content, to its operations. The transaction is in keeping with our push to increase our revenues from other markets, step up our international development and expand our footprint, especially in English-language markets.”

Jean Bureau, president of Incendo, added: “In what is now a global content creation industry, Incendo has succeeded for 18 years in producing and distributing, here and around the world, high-quality dramas that have been enjoyed by tens of millions of television viewers, thanks to the expertise and experience of its people, of Quebec artists and professionals, of its Canadian and international partners and its management team.”

The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks subject to regulatory checks.