Lord of the Rings Deal
Lord of the Rings Deal
LOTR

CREDIT: THE SAUL ZAENTZ COMPANY

EXCELLENCE
"One Deal to rule them all"
Thomas Dey

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Syco
EXCELLENCE
"ACF's certainly got talent"
Ian Rosenblatt OBE

CREDIT: SYCO ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Bear Grylls
INTEGRITY
“You only get one chance
at life and you have to
grab it boldly”
Bear Grylls

CREDIT: BEAR GRYLLS VENTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Paddington
INSIGHT
“Success doesn't come
to you, you go to it.”
Marva Collins

CREDIT: PADDINGTON AND COMPANY

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Pilgrim

CREDIT: PILGRIM STUDIOS

INSIGHT
“Success comes to
those who act!”
Henry David Thoreau

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Leftfield
INSIGHT
“The key to success is to
focus on goals not obstacles”
Unknown

CREDIT: LEFTFIELD ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Plimsoll Productions

CREDIT: PLIMSOLL PRODUCTIONS

INSIGHT
“Success is not final,
failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to
continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Love Productions

CREDIT: LOVE PRODUCTIONS

INTEGRITY
“ When something
is important enough,
you do it even if the odds
are not in your favour”
Elon Musk

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Top Gear
EXCELLENCE
“Success comes to
those who act”
Henry David Thoreau

CREDIT: TOP GEAR

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

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Seven West Media invests in scripted drama producer, Slim Film + Television

Above: Acclaimed Cold War thriller, Legacy for BBC2

ACF Investment Bank is pleased to announce its 11th transaction in the scripted drama space – the investment into Slim Film + Television by leading Australian content company, Seven West Media.


Founded and run by one of the UK’s most experienced drama producers, Slim was set up by Simon Crawford Collins in 2011 where he and his team created and produced BBC’s highly acclaimed Cold War thriller, Legacy and Channel 4’s award-winning comedy hit, The Art of Foley. The established indie is currently developing major scripted projects for the majority of UK broadcasters as well as a number of international networks such as AMC.

Prior to founding Slim, Simon was Joint Managing Director at award-winning UK drama producer, Kudos, and was instrumental in its rise onto the global drama stage – at Kudos he developed and produced a raft of award-winning and long running scripted series including: espionage drama series Spooks which ran for 10 years and aired in 26 countries; heist drama series Hustle which ran for 8 years and sold into 180 territories: and police drama Ashes to Ashes which was a standout ratings success for BBC 1.

Seven West’s investment will support Slim’s ambitions to further expand internationally and pursue a number of high-end international co-production opportunities currently in development. This transaction allows Slim to maintain its creative independence whilst having the support of Seven West Media to fully exploit its exciting slate and transform it into high quality and internationally successful programming. Following the investment, BBC Worldwide, which held 25% of Slim, will exit the business.


Seven West Media is Australia’s largest diversified media business that wholly owns the Australian television and content production business, Seven Network, as well as having interests in international production businesses including 7Beyond and UK based 7Wonder.


Programming

Above: Acclaimed Cold War thriller, Legacy for BBC2
Above: Acclaimed Cold War thriller, Legacy for BBC2
Above: The Art of Foley
Above: The Art of Foley

“I couldn’t be more pleased to have engaged ACF to manage an important and exciting transition in Slim’s journey. ACF’s experience and enthusiasm was evident throughout, as they generated strong offers from numerous parties and negotiated through both the commercial and creative aspects of the final deal. I am very much looking forward to working with our new partners Seven West Media on our future growth and to help us deliver on our ambitions.”

Simon Crawford Collins, Managing Director & Founder, Slim Film and Television

“We were very impressed with ACF. They ran a highly efficient process, delivering a great result for both BBC Worldwide & Simon and we would highly recommend them to businesses looking at options in the content space. We wish Simon and the team all the best in the future.”

Colin Waters, Director of Commercial Finance, BBC Worldwide

“We are delighted to have been brought on board by Simon to advise Slim on this transaction. Simon has a fantastic pedigree of creating and producing long running drama of the highest quality and we very much look forward to seeing him thrive with the support of Seven West Media.”

ACF Investment Bank


5/5

What People Are Saying

“Since this was our first time working with an investment bank and raising capital for any of our businesses, I wasn’t sure what to expect. ACF has a great reputation and came highly recommended from several people that I hold in high regard. Overall, the experience working with Richard, Milos and Thomas was pure joy. They were the perfect partner for us, as they educated us as we were working through the process, they challenged us to think bigger about the scope and scale of our business, and they aggressively represented our business in the marketplace bringing multiple opportunities to us in a very challenging economic time. The partnership and guidance they provided was essential and they were extremely easy to work with. I only hope this is the first of many deals that we are able to execute together.”

Shawn Gee
Two One Five Entertainment

"ACF’s certainly got talent. Their team, led by the ever-tenacious Thomas Dey, delivered on their promises and introduced the perfect partners to achieve our goals."

Ian Rosenblatt OBE, Director
Syco Entertainment

"Given the complexities and importance of the rights at stake in our transaction, we interviewed several investment bank candidates at length before retaining ACF to guide our process.  We could not have chosen better!  ACF personnel were dedicated, creative, practical, responsive and deeply knowledgeable about the intricacies of the sales process. Over the months involved, Thomas, Richard, Tatiana and the rest of the ACF staff met with and worked skillfully and credibly with scores of potential buyers and with our own employees leading ultimately to a high value and very fair outcome benefitting both our company and the buyer. They have our deep respect and gratitude for a job so well accomplished"

Marty Glick, COO
The Saul Zaentz Company

“At this stage of 72’s development, there are great advantages and opportunities of joining forces with Fremantle. Their extensive international infrastructure and expertise will provide 72 Films with the platform to have our work seen across the world. We know and like their excellent team. And they offer us not only fantastic support but complete creative freedom so we can continue to work in the same way.

It’s been a real pleasure working with Thomas Dey and the whole team at ACF. They are brilliant at what they do. And alongside Matisse it’s been an incredible team behind this deal.”

Mark Raphael, David Glover, Founders and Chief Executive Officers
72 Films

“This exciting new deal between Broke and Bones and Netflix marks an exciting period of content creation, demonstrating the strong relationship between market leading creatives and the streaming platforms. ACF brokered the deal using our strong track record, experience and access in the UK and USA scripted markets. Premium content continues to lead the market with strong deals that ACF have closed including advising Mammoth Screen on sale to ITV, Neal Street to All3Media, Left Bank Pictures to Sony, Thinkfactory to ITV, Paddington Bear to Studio Canal, New Pictures to All3Media, and Carnival Pictures to NBC Universal.”

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"It has been an incredible journey for Delbert and I to get to the stage where we can build out our adventure shows under our own Studio. We stand on the shoulders of many giants, the ACF team have been incredible guides through the process - at its heart this is about building the ultimate home of adventure programming worldwide."

Bear Grylls & Delbert Shoopman
The Natural Studios

"Critical Content has been a leading player in the unscripted space for the last decade, led by a first class team. Media continues to dominate the deal landscape, with content leading the pack. What a great start to 2022! Congratulations to the whole team."

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"Boardwalk Pictures are one of the preeminent producers of premium content and this partnership with Shamrock secures Boardwalks positioning as a leading player in this market. Shamrock’s deep understanding and experience in the content space makes them great partners for Andrew and the team at Boardwalk. I look forward to seeing the growth and future success of this partnership."

RIchard Gray, Managing Director
ACF Investment Bank