Lagardère Entertainment acquires controlling interest in audiovisual production house Merlin

Lagardère Entertainment is boosting its audiovisual production activities by acquiring a controlling interest in production house Merlin.

According to Arnaud Molinié, “We are delighted to welcome Pascal Fontanille and François Aramburu, whose talent as authors and producers needs no introduction. The acquisition of Merlin marks another step in Lagardère’s strategy of reorganizing production so as to consolidate – with all our producers – a foundation for future growth.”

Pascal Fontanille adds, “We had reached a plateau in our development, so an alliance with Lagardère Entertainment will enable us to grow more rapidly and take on still more ambitious projects.”

Established in 2000 by Fontanille and Aramburu, Merlin has more than 70 hours of TV production under its belt, including the series Baie Ouest (TF1) and Faîtes Comme Chez Vous (M6), such miniseries as Un Été de Canicule (France 2) and La Prophétie d’Avignon (France 2), and one-off dramas like Un Amour à Taire (France 2). Merlin is currently producing a TV film featuring Lorie and Christophe Malavoy, De Feu et de Glace, coming soon to TF1.

A specialist in audiovisual production, live entertainment and audiovisual rights management, Lagardère Entertainment is a subsidiary of Lagardère Active.