Endemol Shine tipped for Anonymous investment

Endemol Shine Group wants to buy into US film and TV prodco Anonymous Content, according to various reports in the the US trades.

These say the US division of Endemol Shine, which is jointly run by Cris Abrego and Charlie Corwin, wants a minority stake in Anonymous, which has numerous TV projects in the works, including a Netflix series it is making with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment.

It also worked on HBO series True Detective (pictured) and Steven Soderbergh’s Cinemax series The Knick.

The Endemol Shine plan, the Hollywood Reporter claimed, is to build a drama and reality TV powerhouse, with Anonymous founder Steve Golin at the helm of TV and film.

The same paper said that Entertainment One, which has pledged to double in size, has also been looking at Anonymous.

Anonymous has a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures with over a year to run, and is reportedly attempting to get out of that deal in order to get into bed with Endemol Shine.

However, Viacom-owned Paramount has also been linked with a stake in Anonymous, which is riding off the back of Oscars success for Spotlight and The Revenant, as has MGM. Seprately, a piece of Paramount is for sale, as reported this week.

The Wall Street Journal valued Anonymous, which has appointed Guggenheim Partners to explore a stake sale, at US$200 million.