Banijay acquires Germany’s Good Times

Banijay Group’s German division has acquired local production firm Good Times, with its founder set to remain with the company.

Sylvia Fahrenkrog-Petersen (pictured) will continue to lead the business as managing director and producer, overseeing its slate and all operations.

The company was founded in 1998 in Berlin by Fahrenkrog-Petersen and has been based in Cologne since 2000. It will sit alongside Banijay Productions and Brainpool within the German arm of Banijay Group, which has recently linked pulled back from a potential takeover of Endemol Shine Group.

Good Times produces a raft of genres including docu-soaps, scripted reality, and fiction for broadcasters across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as reportage and coaching formats.

Its slate includes Mein Lokal, Dein Lokal – Der Profi Kommt for Kabel Eins, Der Trödeltrupp – Das Geld liegt im Keller for RTL2 and Dinner Party – Der LateNight Talk for ProSieben’s Sat1.

Fahrenkrog-Petersen said Banijay “offers all the prerequisites of a great new home for Good Times. My team and I can now access a strong format catalogue and finally market our own ideas worldwide. Working in a large international network, is an exciting challenge for us, which we accept with enthusiasm.”

Marcus Wolter, CEO at Banijay Germany, added: “Good Times has been synonymous with successful daytime formats and strong in-house developments in the field of factual entertainment and social docu for many years.

“Through the acquisition, we are welcoming a new family member, which has the potential to grow and thrive within our group.”