2 months ago
EXCLUSIVE: Herbert L. Kloiber’s Night Train Media has sold its stakes successful Curve Media, BossaNova Media and Eccho Rights to Germany’s Serafin Group, we tin reveal.
Serafin is now nan main shareholder successful nan 3 European businesses, whose leaders now study into managers astatine nan Munich-based company. Serafin has installed its ain exec, Christoph Auer, arsenic interim CEO pursuing its takeover.
We understand each 3 companies person been reporting into nan caller proprietor for respective weeks already, arsenic nan woody pinch Night Train was softly struck. Notably, backstage equity patient Serafin will besides stay a 50% investor successful Night Train, which is readying now to double down connected co-production and co-financing of high-end scripted TV and films.
“Organizational changes” are taking spot astatine Eccho, we hear, but Kloiber – who was nan distributor’s CEO – is nan only departure astatine present. Sources adjacent to Eccho and Night Train person noted nan 2 companies will clasp a moving narration going forwards, pinch Kloiber still successful business pinch Serafin.
The London- and Munich-based Night Train launched successful 2020, pinch Serafin later boarding nan business to shape a associated task business structure. Deals to get 100% of Chess Masters: The Endgame shaper Curve, 75% of Turkish play master Eccho Rights and 51% of unscripted supplier BossaNova Media followed, arsenic nan institution sought to build a European accumulation and income group.
Night Train invested importantly successful English-language scripted astatine Eccho, and saw shows specified arsenic crime play Safe Harbor waste internationally, but nan slate remained comparatively limited. It is thought Eccho will nary longer put successful nan abstraction and alternatively attraction connected shopping sought-after Turkish dramas specified arsenic Golden Boy and Beneath nan Surface, which secured a batch of deals past week. No patient strategical decisions person been made astatine this stage.
Eccho, BossaNova and Curve are each good known companies successful their ain right. However, we understand Kloiber and Night Train guidance felt anticipated synergies betwixt them didn’t materialize, causing a alteration of course.
Serafin, which buys into companies pinch yearly turnovers of betwixt €20M and €200M, has investments crossed various industries. It will now straight location Curve, Eccho and BossaNova. “Serafin sees nan worth successful having them arsenic assets,” said a source.
Curve is champion known for unscripted bid specified arsenic BBC Two’s Chess Masters, Discovery show Salvage Hunters and Line of Duty star Vicky McClure’s doc series Our Dementia Choir. The institution has been part of Night Train since 2022.
BossaNova, meanwhile, is led by Paul Heaney, who besides founded TCB Media Rights. Heaney has ever maintained a important ownership stock successful nan company, which sells nan likes of Borderforce USA, nan …By Train franchise fronted by Professor Alice Roberts and Caught connected Dash Cam.
Eccho has offices successful Stockholm, Istanbul, London and Madrid and a 25,000-hour library. The company’s first main exec was Fredrik af Malmborg, who stepped down successful 2023, pinch Kloiber replacing him while besides starring Night Train, which had acquired nan company successful 2022 from Korea’s CJ ENM.
Night Train positions itself as a master successful co-production and co-financing for TV series, characteristic films and docs. We understand going forwards it will double down connected scripted productions. It is presently attached to Samuel L. Jackson pic The Beast, besides starring Joel Kinnaman and Guy Burnet; and The Housekeeper, starring Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter.
The waste of Curve, Eccho and BossaNova is notable successful that it is splitting up a consolidated group alternatively than bringing assets together. It comes successful a twelvemonth dominated by M&A that has seen Banijay and All3Media merge, and Paramount swoop for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Kloiber is nan erstwhile Managing Director of Germany’s Tele München Group, which his father, Herbert G. Kloiber, founded
