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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ACF advised Whizz Kid Entertainment on their sale to eOne

Ex on the Beach, MTV

ACF Investment Bank is pleased to announce its third transaction in 2018 – the sale of a majority stake in Whizz Kid Entertainment to Entertainment One.

ACF are the Number 1 M&A Advisor in the Media & Entertainment sector, having advised on more than 90 transactions in this sector with a combined transaction value of over $5 billion.


Whizz Kid is one of the UK’s most innovative independent production companies with a reputation for delivering original high quality, prime time entertainment across a range of genres including reality television, entertainment and live events.

Whizz Kid was founded in 2006 and is led by highly respected and experienced creatives, Malcolm Gerrie and Lisa Chapman. Since inception, the Whizz Kid team has enjoyed considerable success with long-running popular reality shows including Ex on the Beach (MTV), hit formats including Let’s Dance (BBC 1 and sold to 10+ territories worldwide), ground-breaking live events including Stand Up To Cancer (Channel 4) and U2 360°At The Rose Bowl (streamed live online to a global audience of 10m+), TV specials including The British Academy Film and Television Awards (BBC 1), in depth arts series including Talks Music (SKY Arts), and headline-grabbing documentary series including A Life in Film (co-produced with BAFTA for BBC 2).

Building on the two companies’ successful collaboration on the upcoming US version of Ex on the Beach for MTV (based on Whizz Kid’s hit UK format), the management team is now focussed on complementing its core UK business by developing original formats with significant international appeal. A supportive international partner in the form of eOne will allow Whizz Kid to deliver on its commitment to produce the strongest multiplatform content in the global market.


Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is a leading international entertainment company that specialises in the acquisition, production and distribution of film and television content. The company’s comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland, Spain, the Benelux, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

eOne’s rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 80,000 hours of film and televison content and approximately 40,000 music tracks.


Whizz Kid Entertainment Shows

Ex on the Beach, MTV
Ex on the Beach, MTV
Lip Sync Battle UK, Channel 5
Lip Sync Battle UK, Channel 5

Malcolm Gerrie
Malcolm Gerrie
Lisa Chapman
Lisa Chapman

“Myself and everyone at Whizz Kid Entertainment are thrilled to be joining the Entertainment One family. Credit and big thanks really must go to Hasham at ACF for his dedication, confidence, and wonderful bed-side manner which helped us through the long hours of poring over spread sheets and number crunching hard enough to break the strongest teeth. He really kept the faith throughout and worked tirelessly, with Ciara and the team at ACF to drive the deal through to completion with never a shred of doubt that it would be “ all ok on the night!” I salute you young Jedi and look forward to working with you again in the future; may the force stay with you! Thank you from myself, and all the Whizz Kids.”

Malcolm Gerrie, Chief Executive Officer, Whizz Kid Entertainment


“We are delighted to have advised the Whizz Kid team on this transaction. Malcolm has been at the forefront of the UK production community for over three decades and it has been a pleasure helping him and the rest of the Whizz Kid team in finding the right strategic home to support their exciting next phase of growth. I have no doubt that the company will be a great success and has found the perfect home as eOne seeks to implement its ambitious non-scripted global expansion strategy”.

ACF Investment Bank

Thomas Dey

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