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German mini-major Leonine has acquired Hyperbole Medien, Bastian Asdonk’s Berlin-based television production company best known for its nonfiction and entertainment formats.
The deal, which goes into effect June 1, will see Leonine take full control of Hyperbole, producer of award-winning documentary series Germania and political talk show 13 Fragen (13 Questions). The company produces mainly for German public broadcasters, including ZDF, ZDFneo, zdf.kultur, NDR, SWR and MDR as well as for corporate clients, including Sony Music, Red Bull and New Balance.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Asdonk will stay on as managing director of Hyperbole and be joined on the company board by Leonine chief digital officer Christian Meinberger.
“[Hyperbole] has a clear profile, a sense of the zeitgeist and is a successful mix of innovation and high-quality journalistic formats. The creative team at Hyperbole is a great fit for us,” said Leonine CEO Fred Kogel. “Together we will extend our existing IP with new formats and, cross-medial, extend the reach of our content.”
Leonine adds Hyperbole to its growing stable of television and film production companies. The German studio, owned by private equity groups KKR and Atwater Capital, already controls German TV outfits i&u TV, Madame Zheng Production, Odeon Fiction, SEO Entertainment, W&B Television, as well as Wiedemann & Berg Film.
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