German brand management and media company purchases 45 percent of the international rights to hit TV series and brand from co-production partner Rainbow.
HÖHENKIRCHEN/MUNICH, GERMANY -- The German brand management and media company m4e will be taking over more control on production, licensing and marketing of the internationally successful TV series and brand Mia and me, which was created by Gerhard Hahn. m4e and the the co-production partner Rainbow S.r.l., have come to an agreement on m4e’s acquisition of 45% of the international rights on Mia and me. The takeover takes effect retroactively from January 1, 2016.
The terms will exclude the Italian territory, where Rainbow S.r.l. will continue to hold 100% of rights of the popular show. In the course of the acquisition, Hahn Film AG will take over the remaining 5% of the rights from the Rainbow S.r.l. inventory. The remaining 50% of the international rights on Mia and me will stay unchanged with Hahn & m4e Productions GmbH, a 50/50 joint venture of Gerhard Hahn/Hahn Film AG and m4e AG. Thus, m4e AG has almost tripled its shares on Mia and me. The financing of the 45 per cent rights package came from a bank loan.
Hans Ulrich Stoef, CEO of m4e AG, commented, “It has been under discussion with Rainbow for months to acquire the co-production shares and we are very happy now, that this project came to a successful conclusion. For m4e this a milestone in the company’s development. With now almost 100 per cent of the shares, which we are holding together with Gerd Hahn/Hahn Film AG, we are able to market the brand even more targeted and to further expand it internationally.
“We also want to express our appreciation to the management and the whole team of Rainbow for the good and successful cooperation over the last years,” Stoef added. “And that they made the repurchase of the Mia and me rights possible.”
Mia and me, created by Gerhard Hahn, is a production of Hahn & m4e Productions GmbH, a joint venture between m4e AG and Gerhard Hahn. The series is co-produced by Rainbow S.r.l., Italy, and German ZDF Television Network. The broadcast of season 2 started in spring 2015 in Germany and many other territories. Season 3 is currently in production, season 4 and a feature film are in development.
Source: m4e
