Jeff Zucker’s Redbird IMI to Acquire ‘The Traitors’ Studio All3Media for $1.45 Billion

In its largest investment to date, Jeff Zucker’s Redbird IMI will acquire the independent television production and distribution studio All3Media for $1.45 billion from owners Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global Ltd., the joint venture said Friday.

Based in London, All3Media has 50 production labels including Studio Lambert, Raw, Two Brothers Pictures, Silverback Films, New Pictures and Neal Street Productions. They’re responsible for reality hits like “The Traitors,” “Squid Game: The Challenge” and “The Circle,” as well as docuseries like “American Nightmare” and “Life on Our Planet” and scripted programming such as “Call the Midwife.”

Jeff Zucker, the CEO of RedBird IMI, will become the chairman of the All3Media board. CEO Jane Turton and COO Sara Geater will continue to lead the company for RedBird IMI.

“All3Media is one of the world’s great content companies, and this gives us an incredible platform to continue to grow our expanding portfolio,” Zucker said in a statement. “The demand for new shows and ongoing existing series, both scripted and unscripted, makes All3 a perfect fit for us. And 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.”

“Acquiring All3 is an extension of our investment thesis around pure play global content creators and owners of intellectual property,” said Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird. “We look forward to partnering with All3’s management team to continue accelerating their growth in Europe and the U.S. and capitalizing on RedBird’s ecosystem in support of that goal.”

Jane Turton, the CEO of All3Media, said: “Our strategy remains to work with the world’s best talent, developing and producing high quality, popular programs 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.”

RedBird IMI launched just over one year ago, with the goal of building a global media company across news, entertainment and sports. This is the company’s fifth investment, and others include the scripted production company Media Res, the unscripted production company EverWonder Studios, the children’s entertainment company Hidden Pigeon Company and the digital outlet Front Office Sports.

It’s also attempting to buy the UK’s influential Telegraph Group, with financial backing from Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the vice president of the UAE. That effort was stalled last month when details of the deal struck with the Barclay family raised concerns and prompted a new government probe of the transaction.

Pre-Warner merger Discovery and Liberty Global bought All3Media in 2014 for $930 million. One of the largest production studios in the UK, it also operates in US, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Reuters reported in September it was up for sale, though it had been quietly shopped since May, with companies including Sony and Hollywood veteran Peter Chernin’s North Road believed to have passed.

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