Beta Acquires 25 Percent Stake in Iceland's Sagafilm

The production firm will expand Beta Nordic Studios, which also houses Beta's Swedish joint venture and a Finnish banner.

Beta Nordic Studios, a unit of Munich-based sales firm Beta Film, led by CEO Jan Mojto, has acquired a 25 percent stake in Iceland's Sagafilm, further expanding its presence in the Nordics.

Financial terms weren't disclosed.

The production company will become part of Beta Nordic Studios, which also houses Beta's Swedish production joint venture with Patrick Nebout, Dramacorp, and Matti Halonen and Miikko Oikkonen's Finnish banner Fisher King.

Sagafilm is known as Iceland’s oldest production company, with credits in the film, TV series and documentaries space. It also makes commercials and provides local production support for foreign projects. The firm's drama series include the likes of Thin Ice and Stella Blomkvist.

"It is a great acknowledgement for us and for the Icelandic film and TV industry as a whole that one of the largest independent media companies in Europe sees the potential in investing in us," said Ragnar Agnarsson, chairman of Sagafilm. "Indeed, Sagafilm has more than doubled its [revenue] in less than three years. We will continue on our ambitious path producing high-end projects out of Iceland, working with all the great partners we have been working with, both here and abroad."

Martin Hakansson, CEO of Beta Nordic Studios (BNS), lauded Sagafilm's "strong brand recognition" and said it was "well-positioned on the international film and TV market." He added: "We want to stress that each company within the BNS structure remains independent in order to create unique, BNS-branded entertainment for years to come.”