Newen completes acquisition of Reel One Entertainment

Team Chocolate (Tytgat Chocolat)

Newen Group has completed its acquisition of Canadian scripted producer-distributor Reel One Entertainment.

The Department of Canadian Heritage approved the transaction last week, allowing Newen to complete the deal, which was first announced in July.

Based in Montreal with offices in London, Los Angeles and Vancouver, Reel One develops, finances, produces and markets telefilms and series for a global audience. Founded in 2001 by Tom Berry, Reel One specialises in licensing TV movies as well as developing and producing content for channels and streamers.

With 90% of revenues generated outside Canada, the firm – which is headquartered in Montreal with offices in Los Angeles, London, Toronto and Vancouver – works across the US, Europe and other markets, as well as global SVODs.

Under the deal, the business’s Canadian production activities will be housed within a subsidiary under Canadian control, for which Reel One will hold a minority stake.

The acquisition marks Newen’s first concrete move into the English-speaking market, having previously acquired the likes of Denmark’s Nimbus, as well as Dutch formats firm Tuvalu, Dutch feature film and drama producer Pupkin and Belgian drama outfit De Mensen.

Romain Bessi, MD of Newen Group, told TBI earlier this year that there is a “strong distribution benefit” in combining Reel One’s catalogue which is “obviously strong in English-speaking TV movies and [increasingly] strong in English-speaking drama” with its own slate, which is rich in European drama, animation and documentaries.