Oaktree backs Asacha Media, creates TV production group

Asacha has also acquired TV production companies Stand By Me and Picomedia, which are both based in Italy, and French media group Mintee Studio, founded by Gaspard de Chavagnac in 2017.

The three companies will be merged with Asacha, which will be headquartered in Paris. According to press reports, the acquisitions were financed with a €100m injection backed by Oaktree.

Asacha plans to buy other production companies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the coming months, with the aim of building a large TV content platform, the company said in a statement. 

With equity support from Oaktree, Asacha is currently in negotiations to acquire additional production companies across the EMEA region.

The company also intends to pursue ambitious expansion plans through joint ventures and startup acquisitions across its key markets, as well as by boosting its organic growth and further developing its IP creation and production business.

Following the deal, Gaspard de Chavagnac and Marina Williams will be appointed as co-CEOs of Asacha. They will be joined by former Zodiak CEO Marc-Antoine d'Halluin – currently CEO of the Middle East-based MBC Group – who will take on the role of vice-chair of Asacha's board.

Stand By Me CEO Simona Ercolani will join Asacha as group chief creative officer, while Picomedia CEO Roberto Sessa will become a member of the company's board.

The founding partners of all three companies, as well as Williams, will take equity stakes in Asacha alongside Oaktree.

Company
Headquartered in Paris, Asacha specialises in producing non-English-language scripted content for linear, streaming and on-demand platforms and European broadcasters. Its production includes fiction, reality series, children's entertainment and documentaries.

The company will operate across the EMEA region, with a core focus on France, Italy, Germany, Spain and central and eastern Europe. It plans to extend its business in other areas, including the UK, the Nordic region, the Middle East and Turkey.

Picomedia produces films and TV series, including gangster series Escape From The Mafia, produced for Italian national broadcaster RAI, Sergio Castellitto's movie Twice Born and Stefano Mordini's You Came Back and The Invisible Witness, co-produced with Warner Bros.

Established in 2010 and based in Rome, Stand By Me specialises in children's and teenagers' series and documentaries.

Founded in 2017, Mintee Studio is a TV and content production company based in Paris.

The three companies generate combined revenues of around €50m.

People
Oaktree Capital Management – Vincent Catherine, Hugo D'Avout (managing directors). 
Asacha Media – Gaspard de Chavagnac, Marina Williams (co-CEOs).
Picomedia – Roberto Sessa (CEO).
Stand By Me – Simona Ercolana (founder, CEO).

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