LDC buys minority stake in Plimsoll

The production house will pursue international expansion following the deal, with a particular focus on the US market. It will also invest in new content and the expansion of its natural history and documentary divisions.

LDC director Andy Lyndon, head of its Cardiff office Dewi Hughes, and head of new business Andy Grove will all take seats on the Plimsoll board of directors as part of the deal.

The transaction comes three years after Plimsoll acquired a minority stake in global media distribution company Magnify Media.

Tosca Debt Capital provided a debt package to support the latest deal.

Company
Founded in 2013, Bristol-headquartered Plimsoll is a production company focusing on wildlife, documentary, live and factual television programmes. Its clients include Netflix, National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, Channel 4, BBC and ITV, with credits to date including Hostile Planet with Bear Grylls, Yellowstone Live, Rescue Dog to Super Dog and Britain's Parking Hell. The business has additional offices in Cardiff and Los Angeles, with a total headcount of around 400 across all three sites.

Plimsoll is anticipating revenues of £35m in the year ending in August 2019.

People
LDC – Andy Lyndon (director); Dewi Hughes (head of Cardiff office); James Garland (investment executive); Andy Grove (head of new business).
Plimsoll Productions – Grant Mansfield (CEO, founder); Christine Owen (chief operating officer); Martha Holmes (head of natural history); Richard Klein (head of documentaries); Tom Hugh-Jones (creative director); James Smith (head of live); Karen Plumb (head of factual entertainment); Andrew Jackson (head of international production and development).

Advisers
Equity – KPMG (corporate finance); Osborne Clarke (legal); Oliver & Ohlbaum (commercial due diligence); Deloitte (financial due diligence).
Company – ACF Investment Bank (corporate finance); Westbrook Advisers (legal); PwC (tax).
Debt – DLA Piper (legal).

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• Topics
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• UK / Ireland
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• Minority investing