De Mol buys remaining Talpa Germany shares

Talpa Media has acquired the 50.1% of Talpa Germany it didn’t already own from publisher Axel Springer.

In December, Talpa founder John de Mol (pictured) acquired a 49.9% stake in Schwartzkopff TV and rebranded it as Talpa Germany.

Talpa was given the chance to buy the remaining shares as part of that agreement, and as the formats business expands its global footprint has cashed in on the opportunity.

The deal is the first for Talpa since UK broadcaster ITV acquired Talpa Media in a deal that could be worth up to £US$1.1 billion. Talpa noted the ITV sale allowed it to move quickly in Germany.

Formats producer Talpa Germany was founded independently as Schwartzkopff in 1993 before Axel Springer acquired it six years later.

It had picked up exclusive local rights to the Talpa catalogue in 2010, going on to produce shows such as ProSieben’s The Voice of Germany and The Winner Is… before de Mol officially bought in last year.

It also produced Sat.1’s controversial German version of Utopia, which was dogged with claims scenes were faked. Sat.1 apologised for one incident in which an allegedly drunk producer was filmed entering the set, but said there had been no secret plotting over the show, in which participants are continually filmed as they try to create a new society.

Talpa has been expanding internationally, launching branded prodcos in the UK, Italy, Scandinavia and the Middle East last year. It already operated Talpa Media USA.