Mediawan to Acquire Peter Chernin’s North Road Company

European studio Mediawan has entered an agreement to acquire Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company, creating one of the world’s largest independent studios.

Together, the combined entity will operate nearly 100 individual production companies representing over $2 billion in annual production volume across 15 countries, including the U.S., France, Germany, U.K., Italy, Spain, Australia, Mexico, and Turkey.

It will be backed by investors including Mediawan’s strategic partner KKR, the Qatar Investment Authority, Providence Equity Partners, The Raine Group, Bpifrance and Mediawan co-founders Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. North Road shareholders, founders, and management team will become significant minority Mediawan shareholders.

The transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is expected close in the first half of 2026. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though Bloomberg previously reported that North Road would be valued between $700 million and $1 billion.

The combined group will be led by Mediawan co-founder Pierre-Antoine Capton and headquartered in Paris ,with Mediawan’s governance and control remaining unchanged.

“Over the past decade, Mediawan has grown from a French independent studio into one of Europe’s leading global content groups. Our success is reflected in the strength of our IP and the ambition of our upcoming slate. With the addition of Peter’s exceptional creative teams, we believe we are creating the ideal global home for premium storytelling,” Capton said in a statement. “As our industry consolidates, our goal is to reinforce Mediawan’s position as the leading independent platform for premium content and as a trusted partner to streaming platforms and all content distributors worldwide. We will continue this work with humility and agility, delivering the best possible content for our viewers and our partners worldwide.”

Élisabeth d’Arvieu will become Group Chief Content Officer, leading global content strategy across scripted television and film, unscripted and reality, documentaries, animation and emerging formats.

“Bringing Mediawan and North Road together creates a uniquely powerful creative platform across all genres, scripted and unscripted, film and series, documentaries and animation. With talent and premium IP at the center, we have the scale to develop ambitious stories and build global franchises with the world’s leading creators, studios and platforms,” d’Arvieu said. This will allow accelerating co-productions, generating new synergies within the Group, creating a new bridge between the American and European industries.”

North Road will serve as Mediawan’s North American hub and its leadership team, labels and creative partnerships will remain in place. Chernin will join Mediawan’s board and serve as non-executive chairman of The North Road Company.

“I’ve spent my career trying to focus on where the creative and entertainment businesses are going. In the streaming era, the platforms have all become global buyers,” Chernin added. “It’s time for a global content company with leadership in geographies all over the world to maximize the potential of this new landscape. I’m thrilled to partner with Pierre-Antoine, who shares this global vision, and Mediawan to build this company.”

Scott Manson will serve as North Road’s CEO, while Jenno Topping will remain president of Chernin Entertainment.

“Combining with Mediawan provides us the scale and resources to compete at the highest level globally,” Manson said. “We look forward to continuing to be a top supplier of content to our studio and streamer partners, while also leading the industry forward with new business models alongside Pierre-Antoine and our forward-thinking partners at Mediawan.”

In addition to Chernin Entertainment, which is led by David Ready, North Road’s media entities include Chernin Entertainment Television, led by Kaitlin Dahill and Tracey Cook; Kinetic Content, led by Chris Coelen; Words + Pictures, led by Connor Schell; North Road Television Studio, led by Amy Israel; Perro Azul in Mexico City and Karga Seven in Istanbul.

North Road is also a strategic investor in Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, Questlove and Black Thought’s Two One Five Entertainment, NBA star Chris Paul’s Ohh Dip!!! Productions, and GenAI content studio Promise, led by George Strompolos.

The North Road acquisition follows Mediawan’s first North American investment in 2022 in Plan B Entertainment, which will continue to operate with full global creative independence under the leadership of Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.

The combined entity’s notable credits include “Adolescence,” “Slow Horses,” “New Girl,” “One Day,” “HPI,” “Call My Agent!,” “Miraculous,” “Love Is Blind,” “Chief of War,” “Bad Boy,” “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” and “Who Killed Sara?,” “F1,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “The Count of Monte Cristo,” the “Planet of the Apes” franchise and “L’Amour Ouf.”

The Raine Group and Centerview Partners served as financial advisors to Mediawan. Latham & Watkins LLP and Mayer Brown served as legal counsel to Mediawan and FGS Global served as communications counsel to Mediawan. Moelis & Company LLC and PJT Partners, Inc. served as financial advisors to North Road. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal counsel to North Road.

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