An Abu Dhabi-backed company bidding to take over the Telegraph is buying a production group behind shows including Fleabag and the Traitors in a £1.15bn deal.
RedBird IMI, led by former CNN president Jeff Zucker, take over London-based All3Media after it came to an agreement with All3Media’s owners Warner Bros, Discovery and Liberty Global.
All3Media has 50 different labels, and has produced some of the most popular shows of recent years including Squid Game: The Challenge, Midsomer Murders, Call The Midwife and Gogglebox.
Its subsidiaries include Liverpool-based Lime Pictures, known for soap Hollyoaks and for reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex.
Mr Zucker will become chairman of the All3Media board, while All3Media's CEO Jane Turton and COO Sara Geater will continue to lead the company for its new owner.
Mr Zucker said: "All3Media is one of the world’s great content companies, and this gives us an incredible platform to continue to grow our expanding portfolio.
"The demand for new shows and ongoing existing series, both scripted and unscripted, makes All3 a perfect fit for us.
"We would not be doing this if not for the tremendous confidence we have in the outstanding All3Media management team, led by Jane and Sara."
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Jane Turton said: “Joining forces with Jeff and the RedBird IMI team is an exciting next step for us as we continue to build All3Media. Our strategy remains to work with the world’s best talent, developing and producing high quality, popular programmes and RedBird IMI’s support and investment will be key in helping us deliver this.
"I am very proud of all that we have built over the past few years, and I am looking forward to working with the RedBird IMI team as we take this important next step."
Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird, said: "Acquiring All3 is an extension of our investment thesis around pure play global content creators and owners of intellectual property. We look forward to partnering with All3’s management team to continue accelerating their growth in Europe and the US and capitalizing on RedBird’s ecosystem in support of that goal."
This is RedBird IMI’s fifth investment since launching around a year ago. It has invested in other media companies such as production firms Media Res and EverWonder Studios, as well as children’s entertainment company Hidden Pigeon Company and digital outlet Front Office Sports.
RedBird IMI is majority owned by the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Ministers have expressed fears about its proposed purchase of the Telegraph newspaper, and the Government has ordered an investigation into the deal by regulators Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority.
They have until March 11 to report - and in the meantime, RedBird IMI and Telegraph Media Group have been banned from making any changes to key staff or the structure of the Telegraph business, including the Spectator magazine.