Lagardère acquires Spanish production outfit

Lagardère has acquired Spanish producer Boomerang TV for an undisclosed sum.

The French conglomerates TV unit, Lagardère Active, has taken an 82% stake with the remainder owned by BTV’s existing management – Pepe Abril, Pedro Ricote and Juan José Diaz – who will remain with the prodco.

Abril, Ricote and Diaz run the producer, which was founded in 1998 and posted revenues of €42.4 million in 2014.

Its recent drama hits include Mediaset Espana series Los Nuestros (Our Guys) and it has a long list of scripted credits for the major Spanish broadcasters including Los misterios de Laura, which has been remade for NBC in the US. It also has a Lat-Am unit, making content for broadcasters in the region.

The company also produces the Spanish version of shows includingThe Voice, The Voice Kids and Married at First Sight, and is working on local versions of Peking Express and Top Chef. It recently restructured its entertainment division.

Denis Olivennes, president of Lagardère Active said: “This acquisition is the fruit of three years of patient searching by Takis Candilis and his teams of alliances with talented companies in Europe that share our vision for the future, especially in the face of large multinational groups and a surge of new players from the web.”

The Lagardère Active boss suggested this was the first of several M&A moves: “With Arnaud Lagardère’s full support from day one, we have the drive and means necessary to reach critical mass on the European audiovisual production market; this acquisition is a first step to get us there.”

Takis Candilis, president of Lagardère Entertainment added: “With this acquisition, Lagardère Entertainment will become a leading presence in two European countries. What’s more, thanks to Boomerang, we’ll establish a presence in Latin America via their subsidiary in Chile and with a growing presence in Colombia, thus reinforcing our expansion strategy in fast-growing countries, as in Africa.”