Content Media Agrees to Buy 50 Percent Stake in Alex Gibney's Jigsaw Productions

LONDON - Content Media Corp. on Wednesday unveiled a  deal to take a 50 percent stake in Alex Gibney's New York-based production firm Jigsaw Productions, further adding to the company’s growing investment portfolio.

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Financial details weren't disclosed.

The agreement will see Content working with founder Gibney to build a diversified production company working across film and TV, the partners said. Jigsaw will add staff, expand its development and increase its production output.

Content’s film, TV and digital arm will act as international distributors for Jigsaw content "when appropriate," they said.

The companies will collaborate on such on-going projects as an HBO project that is produced and directed by Gibney; Untitled Eagles Project, a documentary on the legendary band; and Park Avenue, a documentary in the series Why Poverty? Jigsaw is also currently developing two originally scripted feature films and a miniseries based on the book "Black Banners" by Ali Soufan.

Jigsaw's films include documentaries, such as Academy Award winner Taxi to the Dark Side, Client # 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, among others. Jigsaw and Gibney have also produced episodic TV series, such as The Blues with Martin Scorsese and David Halberstam’s The Fifties.

Said Gibney: "We have a prolific documentary production business here at Jigsaw, and I have wanted for some time to expand into episodic television, international rights and additional fiction projects. Content’s investment in Jigsaw and its sales platform and management team will give me the resources to do that."

Added Content CEO John Schmidt: "This new partnership is a further example of our continued strategy to expand our portfolio through collaborations with world-renowned producers. We have admired Alex Gibney and his work at Jigsaw for many years."

He said his team wants to provide Gibney with the support and resources "to grow and expand production across a variety of genres."

Content Media Corporation is based in London and LA. It has previously  invested in reality TV producer Collins Avenue, and Phase Four Films, a film distribution firm in Toronto.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai