Fremantle has acquired 70% of Lux Vide, the 30-year-old Italian producer of Medici, Leonardo and Coco Chanel.
Under the deal, which forms part of Fremantle’s growth plan to invest in global scripted indies, the founding Bernabei family will retain the remaining 30%.
Luca Bernabei will continue as CEO and Fremantle Group COO Andrea Scrosati will become Chairman, with Matilde Bernabei taking an Honorary Chairman post and serving on the Management Board.
Founded in 1992, Lux Vide has gone on to produce more than 1,300 hours of primetime scripted content viewed in 144 countries.
The company became the first in Italy to win an Emmy for Joseph from The Bible Collection and picked up Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for co-produced Coco Chanel. Other big-budget credits include Netflix’s Medici starring Dustin Hoffman, Richard Madden and Sean Bean, Amazon Prime’s Leonardo starring Aidan Turner and Matilda De Angelis and Devils, the high-stakes financial thriller starring Patrick Dempsey and Alessandro Borghi for Sky.
The company has also produced 13 seasons of RAI’s Don Matteo over more than 20 years and has worked with the Italian public broadcaster frequently.
Scrosati said the deal “underlines Fremantle’s strategic plan to invest and grow in the scripted arena,” having delivered 81 scripted titles last year alone.
Previous Fremantle scripted indie investments include acquiring the 12 former Nent Studios production labels in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark (now rebranded as This is Nice Group), Australian-American television production company Eureka Productions (Parental Guidance) and My Brilliant Friend producer The Apartment.
Luca Bernabei added: “The Lux Vide collaboration with Fremantle confirms our long-term global strategy and international vision. The synergies between the two companies are clear to see and everyone within the Lux Vide team are looking forward to embracing this new partnership and the many opportunities it brings.”
