BANIJAY GROUP BUYS CONTROLLING SHARE OF AWARD-WINNING U.S.-BASED PRODUCTION COMPANY STEPHEN DAVID ENTERTAINMENT

Producers of the Emmy® Winning The Men Who Built America Acquisition Boosts Banijay Group's Library of Original Content and Expands Scripted Entertainment Footprint in the U.S.

Paris, 8 January – Continuing its growth strategy in the English speaking content market, Marco Bassetti, CEO of the Banijay Group, a leading independent content creator, producer and distributor of globally recognized television series and multimedia entertainment announced that it has signed a deal with award-winning U.S.-based production company Stephen David Entertainment (SDE). The agreement sees Banijay Group take a controlling interest in this highly successful production company to enrich Banijay’s catalogue with a library of ready-made original series and to expand into producing new original series and larger-scale scripted entertainment in the U.S. for global exploitation across the Banijay infrastructure. Stephen David, founder and president of SDE, will report to David Goldberg, Banijay Group President and Banijay Studios North America CEO. SDE will be the latest acquisition of the Banijay Group in the US after the very successful Bunim-Murray Productions, managed by Jon Murray, and the newly launched Banijay Studios North America.

SDE produces unique, premium non-scripted content and scripted documentary series including Emmy® nominated docudrama mini-series The World Wars (History); Emmy® winning event mini-series The Men Who Built America (History) and The West (Discovery Channel); anthology mini-series American Genius (National Geographic Channel) and true crime series Redrum.  SDE’s most recent production, the brand new three-part event mini-series Sons of Liberty, premieres in the U.S. on 25th January 2015 on History.  SDE is an end-to-end television production and development company based out of New York City, with its own in-house post-production facility. 

Marco Bassetti, Banijay Group CEO, commented, “This new deal underlines our policy to expand our footprint in the English-speaking market, bringing added value to our business as a whole. I have huge respect for Stephen and very much admire the high quality and entertaining programs he produces.  With SDE on board, our presence in the U.S. market becomes even stronger and more diverse.”   

David Goldberg, added, “This move complements our existing business and strengthens Banijay’s ability to break new creative ground in North America.  We believe there is a great deal of opportunity for growth of the non-scripted and scripted documentary genres.  We will also look to SDE to contribute to the development of the Banijay scripted activity that is a main objective of our US strategy.  Stephen is an incredibly gifted talent and his strong track record as an award-winning content creator and producer makes SDE a great fit for the business we’re building in North America.  We look forward to working with Stephen and his team.”

Stephen David added, “This is a very exciting start to the New Year and I am delighted to see SDE join the Banijay Group family.  We share mutual goals and ambitions. First and foremost, the desire to create top quality programming that entertains and has strong local and international appeal.”

Stephen David Entertainment was represented in the transaction by Ron Milkes and Bryan Bowles of Bryor Media Partners.

LEGENDARY ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES ASYLUM ENTERTAINMENT

Acquisition Underscores Legendary’s Mandate to Build a Multi-Platform and Diverse Television and Digital Business

Legendary Entertainment announced today that it has acquired 100 percent of Asylum Entertainment, a leading television production company, known for creating and producing popular scripted, non-scripted and sports documentary programming. Through the deal, Asylum joins Legendary Television & Digital Media, the division of Legendary Entertainment charged with producing programming across multiple platforms on a global basis. Legendary Television remains committed to premium, Legendary branded scripted content, while Asylum provides Legendary with a broad-based and diverse production label which will expand into non-scripted, long-form, sports and other genres.

The announcement was made by Bruce Rosenblum, President of Legendary Television and Digital Media, alongside Asylum Entertainment’s founders, Steve Michaels, President and Chief Executive Officer and Jonathan Koch, President and Chief Creative Officer. Michaels and Koch will continue to operate Asylum as an independent company, maintaining its unique brand and corporate culture, and now report into Rosenblum.

“This is an exciting and significant acquisition for Legendary which confirms our commitment to building a global multi-dimensional television business. Asylum’s terrific track-record, relationships and current television content gives Legendary a base to expand and quickly diversify our television business,” said Rosenblum. “On a personal level, I am thrilled to be working with Steve and Jonathan, two executives who have thrived in an entrepreneurial environment, and I am confident that they will be ideal partners to our team.”

Founded in 2003, Asylum is known for producing a broad range of premium video programming primarily for cable television that spans from acclaimed documentaries including ESPN’s critically lauded “30 for 30” series and the “Beyond the Glory” series for Fox Sports; to widely popular cable reality shows such as “Beverly Hills Pawn” and Emmy®- winning dramatic mini-series like “The Kennedys.”

“This is an incredible deal that allows Asylum to scale our existing business beyond what we could have imagined,” Michaels and Koch said. “In terms of our programming philosophies and the audiences we’re trying to build and serve, Legendary is a perfect match. And, of course, we have deep regard for all that Thomas Tull has accomplished in the media business, and we’re very excited to be working with him and Legendary.”

Asylum is currently in production on a highly anticipated feature documentary, Happy Valley, focusing on the sexual abuse scandal that recently rocked Penn State University and its football program.

About Asylum Entertainment

Asylum Entertainment’s most notable productions include the epic 8-part mini-series “The Kennedys” for which they received 10 Emmy® nominations and won four. Additionally, Asylum’s scripted division was recently nominated for four Emmy Awards on the television film, “Ring of Fire” starring Jewel. Asylum’s lifeblood is unscripted television. Their notable unscripted projects include the 10-time Emmy nominated “Beyond The Glory,” ESPN’s “30 for 30,” “The Locator,” “Addicted,” “American Gangster,” “Beverly Hills Pawn” and many more.

Additionally, Asylum Entertainment is eagerly anticipating the spring 2014 release of its’ first theatrical feature film “Small Time,” written and directed by “24” co-creator, Joel Surnow. Currently, Asylum Entertainment is in production on the much anticipated feature documentary Happy Valley, which focuses on the gripping scandal that has rocked Penn State University. To learn more visit: www.asylument.com.

About Legendary Entertainment

Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film (Legendary Pictures), television and digital (Legendary Television and Digital Media) and comics (Legendary Comics) divisions dedicated to owning, producing and delivering content to mainstream audiences with a targeted focus on the powerful fandom demographic. Through complete or joint ownership, Legendary has built a library of marquee media properties and has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment including some of the world’s most popular intellectual property. In aggregate,

Legendary Pictures-associated productions have realized grosses of more than $8 billion worldwide at the box office. To learn more visit: www.legendary.com