Broadcaster ITV has agreed to acquire a majority stake in independent television production firm Plimsoll Productions in a £103.5m cash deal.
The acquisition of the the award wining maker of wildlife, documentary and factual entertainment shows values the Bristol headquartered firm - which also has an office in Cardiff - at £131m.
ITV will acquire 79.5% of Plimsoll's share capital from private equity firm LDC, the firm's founder and chief executive Grant Mansfield and other existing shareholders.
Shareholders will receive a total payment of £85.5m on completion, with £17.6m expected to set aside to close the firm's net debt position.
The outstanding 20.5% of share capital will be held by Mr Mansfield, and other members of the management team and strategic investors.
ITV has an option to acquire a 100% equity stake a future stage.
LDC backed Plimsoll’s management team, led by Mr Mansfield, in 2019, with a minority investment that valued the company at around £80m. Since then, the business has grown sales from £35m in 2019 to £50m, with an ebitda of £10m (FY21).
The deal provides a complete exit for LDC.
Since the backing from LDC in 2019, Plimsoll has invested in its natural history and documentary programming, launched a factual drama division and pursued further growth, both organically and through acquisition.
In September 2020, it acquired specialist distribution and rights management company, Magnify Media, which now distributes to 75 countries worldwide through its network. The business also appointed US entertainment industry veteran Mark Itkin, who joined Plimsoll’s board to advise on strategy.
Plimsoll attracted its highest audiences to date during the three-year partnership – witproductions including Apple TV+ documentary series Tiny World and Channel 4’s Handmade: Britain’s Best Woodworker.
Last year it embarked on its first co-production series with ITV – the upcoming Stephen Fry-narrated documentary A Year on Planet Earth – which involved forming commercial partnerships with international broadcasters, including Tencent in China and Fox Nation in the USA.
Plimsoll will remain an independent brand following the transaction. The company’s existing management and creative teams will continue to run the business and play a key role in programme development to maintain its creative pipeline.
The deal gives ITV a 79.5% stake in the business.
Mr Mansfield said: “The last few years have been an exceptional time for our business. We’ve achieved record growth and continued to thrill audiences with powerful stories that celebrate the world we live in.
“We have really valued our partnership with LDC. The team has supported and empowered us to achieve our ambitions on our own terms, with creativity, inclusivity and the pursuit of excellence at the core of everything we do. We’re now excited to build on our successes with ITV.”
The transaction will help Plimsoll to continue to expand its premium factual offering, while supporting ITV’s strategy to grow its international content business, ITV Studios. The broadcaster plans to leverage Plimsoll’s strong relationships with global streaming services and take advantage of increasing demand for natural history and factual programming.
Dewi Hughes, partner and head of LDC in the South West and Wales, added: “Plimsoll has become a global standard bearer for British natural history and premium factual filmmaking and has established a pre-eminent position in its genres at an international level.
" It has used award-winning creativity to tap into a surge in demand for content and is now perfectly positioned to continue its impressive growth journey with one of the UK’s biggest broadcasters. We have enjoyed supporting Grant and his team on their remarkable achievements and wish them all the very best.”
LDC and Plimsoll Productions were advised on this transaction by Houlihan Lokey (financial advisory), Osborne Clarke (legal), PWC (financial due diligence), CIL (commercial due diligence) and Deloitte (tax structuring).
