Content Partners tracks down CSI stake

Entertainment financier Content Partners has acquired 50% of the CSI franchise from Goldman Sachs.

The deal, which reports have said was for around US$400 million, leaves Content and CBS Corporation as joint rights partners on the franchise, which is one of the largest and most lucrative in television history.

CBS will continue to control domestic and international programming distribution.

Goldman Sachs had acquired the stake in 2007 when it bought Canadian entertainment firm Alliance Atlantis.

“One of the most attractive aspects of this acquisition is the strong commitment that CBS has made in continuing to aggressively distribute and leverage the CSI franchise across all media,” said Steven H. Kram, president and CEO of Content Partners. “The CSI franchise is internationally acclaimed and has consistently been one of television’s top-rated shows since it debuted in 2000.”

Content is a US-based asset management group. It claims to hold rights to 119 feature films and five television series, though the identity of these remain under wraps.