2010, June 2nd- Zodiak Entertainment (Zodiak) has today announced the acquisition of the RDF Media Group (RDF), one of the UK’s largest independent production and distribution companies with operations in the UK and US.
Zodiak has simultaneously announced the appointment of David Frank to the role of CEO of Zodiak Entertainment. Previously David Frank was CEO of RDF. Lorenzo Pellicioli, CEO of De Agostini Group and Chairman & CEO of Zodiak will continue to serve as Chairman of the new enlarged group.
The deal consolidates Zodiak’s position as a global force in the production and distribution of content for multi-media platforms (the most significant of which is television). The new group has annual sales exceeding €500 million.
The deal brings together award-winning and internationally renowned companies from across Europe, the US and South America. Zodiak now has a significant presence in more than 20 countries, among which include the UK, the US, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and Russia.
Headquartered in Paris, Zodiak was originally created by De Agostini through the acquisition of the Magnolia Group in Italy/Spain (2007), the Marathon Group in France (2007) and Zodiak Television in territories including Scandinavia, Benelux, Poland, Russia, India and Latin America (2008). De Agostini, a family-owned private Group, is an international financial conglomerate with a holding, De Agostini S.p.A, that coordinates the strategic operating companies - De Agostini Editore (Publishing), Antena 3, jointly with Planeta Corporation, and Zodiak Entertainment (Media & Communications), Lottomatica Group (Gaming) and DeA Capital (Finance).
RDF was founded by David Frank in 1993, floated on the London Stock Market (AIM) in 2005 and was subsequently acquired in 2009 by a consortium of the RDF management team and funds managed by Cyrte Investments.
As a result of this deal, Zodiak is about 71% owned by De Agostini with the remaining 29% of Zodiak capital owned by Zodiak Managers (including RDF managers) and Cyrte Investments.
Lorenzo Pellicioli, CEO of De Agostini Group, said: "With the acquisition of RDF Media Group the consolidation process of Zodiak is completed. Zodiak, with its strong international footprint and its presence in all entertainment formats, is today one of the main content producers in the world. We are particularly glad to welcome David Frank as the new future CEO of Zodiak and we are sure that his experience and his deep expertise will lead Zodiak towards important goals".
David Frank, CEO RDF and CEO designate of Zodiak said: "The content business is both changing rapidly and becoming more global by the day and this is a huge opportunity to be at the very heart of this revolution. In my opinion to succeed you need two things - brilliant creative executives and scale. This deal delivers both and I am confident that the Zodiak management team can build a world-beating company."
For further details please contact:
The Press Office:
Elena Dalle Rive
Head of Media Relations De Agostini S.p.A
T + 39 02 62499592
Cell. 335 7835912
e-mail: elena.dallerive@deagostini.it
Hayley Bushell +44 (0) 207 013 4479
RDF Media Group Press Office
T. + 44 (0) 20 7013 4479
e-mail: publicity@rdfmedia.com