TIDMITV
RNS Number : 7220O
ITV PLC
14 June 2022
ITV acquires Plimsoll Productions - the world's largest leading
independent natural history TV producer
ITV plc today announced that it has agreed to acquire a majority
interest of 79.5% in Plimsoll Productions, the largest independent
producer of natural history programmes in the world and a growing
premium factual producer, for a cash consideration of approximately
GBP103.5 million, valuing Plimsoll at an Enterprise Value of GBP131
million. Founded in Bristol in 2013, the centre of excellence for
natural history programming, the Bafta, Emmy and Academy award
winning producer has produced hundreds of hours of content which is
watched, and sold, in nearly 200 countries.
The producer is behind series including Tiny World and Giant
World for Apple+; Hostile Planet and Supernatural Planet for
Disney; Night on Earth and Animal for Netflix and the upcoming
landmark series, A Year on Planet Earth for ITV, Tencent in China,
Fox Nation in the US and Ard Group in Germany.
This acquisition is a further milestone in ITV's strategy of
expanding its international content business. It further
diversifies ITV Studios production base and will enable ITV to take
advantage of the strong demand for content across the ever-popular
natural history and factual genres. Plimsoll Productions' has a
strong network with all of the global streamers and this
acquisition will strengthen and deepen ITV Studios' relationships
with the streamers.
Under the leadership of founder Grant Mansfield, Plimsoll
Productions has built a track record of delivering a strong
operational and financial performance. The Plimsoll Productions
team is highly specialised and multi award-winning in the
production of blue-chip natural history and includes chief creative
officer Dr Martha Holmes (formerly of the BBC's Natural History
unit - Blue Planet, Hostile Planet, Tiny World); creative director
Tom Hugh-Jones (Tiny World, Planet Earth II); Karen Plumb as Head
of Factual Entertainment; and Richard Klein, former Head of ITV
Factual, and Head of Documentaries at the BBC. Prior to launching
Plimsoll Productions, Mansfield has previously been head of
production company Zodiak in the USA, Managing Director of RDF and
the Commissioner of Factual for ITV.
Following the transaction Grant Mansfield, together with his
senior management and creatives, will continue to manage the
business and play a key role in programme development to maintain
Plimsoll's strong creative pipeline. They will work alongside ITV
Studios Managing Director Julian Bellamy, Director of Unscripted,
UK, Angela Jain and their team.
Plimsoll Productions is also expanding across the premium
unscripted space with growing documentary and factual entertainment
departments producing for major network/platforms including BBC,
ABC, Channel 4, CNN, History and Hulu. One of the UK's fastest
growing companies, this year Plimsoll Productions was listed on The
Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and International Track 200.
ITV Studios already has a relationship with Plimsoll Productions
as the distributor for A Year On Planet Earth. This 6x60 series
draws on the most spellbinding and dramatic stories from all
corners of the globe and is narrated in the UK by Stephen Fry. The
priority, at this stage, is to continue the momentum of the
respective distribution businesses while teams get to know each
other and assess how they best work together. Magnify Media
(Plimsoll Productions' distribution arm) will work alongside ITV
Studios.
ITV will acquire 79.5% of Plimsoll's share capital from private
equity firm LDC, Grant Mansfield and other existing Plimsoll
shareholders for a cash consideration of GBP103.5m. This includes
GBP85.5m payable to the existing shareholders and the repayment of
Plimsoll's financial net indebtedness at completion, expected to be
approximately GBP17.6 million.
The outstanding 20.5% of share capital will be held by Grant
Mansfield and other members of the management team and strategic
investors of Plimsoll. There are Call and Put arrangements in place
that will give ITV the option of acquiring the outstanding 20.5% of
share capital. The consideration payable by ITV for the remainder
of Plimsoll's share capital is dependent on Plimsoll's profit
growth performance in the period to 31 December 2027, is capped at
GBP79.5m and payable from 2028 onwards.
Plimsoll generated EBITDA of GBP10.0 million for the 12 months
to 31 August 2021. Under ITV's ownership, Plimsoll will report to a
calendar year and under ITV's episodic revenue recognition policy.
On this basis Plimsoll is forecasted to deliver EBITDA of around
GBP5.5m in H2 2022.
The transaction will be earnings accretive from day one and is
expected to accelerate ITV Studios' growth internationally and its
business with the global streaming platforms. The transaction will
be financed through existing cash resources.
Grant Mansfield, CEO Plimsoll Productions said: " The
significant opportunities in the international premium unscripted
market make this the perfect time for Plimsoll to join ITV Studios.
There is a quite special strategic and cultural fit that will
enable us to achieve our, now shared, creative and commercial
ambitions for Plimsoll. We're excited to be part of ITV Studios'
expanding global force in content and delighted that, from today,
this powerful new partnership is officially active."
Carolyn McCall, CEO ITV added: "Growing ITV Studios with an
exciting pipeline of premium programmes is core to our strategy as
we further diversify the business by genre, by geography, by
customer and grow ahead of the market. Through Plimsoll
Productions, as a Studio, we can continue to capitalise on the
growing demand for natural history and factual programming and I am
really pleased to welcome Grant and the team."
Julian Bellamy, Managing Director ITV Studios added: "Grant and
the team at Plimsoll bring years of unrivalled experience in the
creation and production of outstanding and award-winning natural
history and factual programmes. I'm delighted to welcome them to
ITV Studios - their addition to the group strengthens our position
in supplying the best shows across all genres to buyers around the
world."
Further information
1. The Acquisition constitutes a Class 2 transaction pursuant to
the UK Listing Rules. For the purposes of the LR 10.4.1 R
(Notification of class 2 transactions), Plimsoll generated EBITDA
of GBP10.0 million for the 12 months to 31 August 2021. Under ITV's
ownership, Plimsoll will report to a calendar year and under ITV's
episodic revenue recognition policy. On this basis Plimsoll is
forecasted to deliver an EBITDA of around GBP5.5m in the H2 2022.
Gross assets at 31 August 2021 were GBP97.2 million reflecting
significant goodwill as a result of the current ownership
structure.
2. The acquisition is expected to complete on 1 July 2022.
For further enquiries please contact:
Investor Relations
Pippa Foulds +44 7778 031097
Sarah Comfort +44 20 7157 6486
Media Relations
Paul Moore +44 7860 794444
Tessa Matchett +44 7712077966
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
ACQUOSWRUNUNAAR
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 14, 2022 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Itv (LSE:ITV)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Itv (LSE:ITV)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024