Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) said it has agreed the sale of twelve NENT Studios production labels to Fremantle, which belongs to RTL Group. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 or Q4, when NENT will report on its financial impact. The sale is in line with NENT’s stated ambition to focus NENT Studios on scripted content for its Viaplay streaming service.
The agreement with Fremantle covers Strong Productions of Denmark; Grillifilms, Moskito Television and Production House of Finland; Monster, Novemberfilm, One Big Happy Family, Playroom, Rakett and Strix TV of Norway; and Baluba and Strix Television of Sweden.
NENT Group EVP and CFO Gabriel Catrina said that Fremantle’s global reach will create many opportunities for the businesses it is selling. Catrina added that the sale agreement concludes the divestments of all the NENT Studios assets that it had planned for. NENT’s remaining Studios assets will now focus primarily on delivering scripted content exclusively for Viaplay, leading to Studios eventually being removed as a separate disclosure of revenue in NENT’s reporting.
Fremantle CEO Jennifer Mullin said the transaction is an opportunity to expand its presence in the Nordic region and add talent to Fremantle. She said Fremantle has the reach to extend the acquired labels’ output to a wider audience.
NENT said the non-cash financial impact of the previous sales of Splay One and NENT Studios UK will be included in NENT’s second quarter results, with a minimal impact on discontinued operations and approximately SEK 75 million reported as a negative item affecting comparability for continuing operations.
