Around The World in 80 Days outfit Federation Entertainment has taken its second stake in a French production company of the year, acquiring 51% of Yves Darondeau and Emmanuel Priou’s March of the Penguins producer Bonne Pioche.
The deal covers all production activities, from development to delivery, as well as back office and international sales, with 30-staff outfit Bonne Pioche retaining full editorial freedom.
The company, whose name means “Good Call,” was founded in 1993 by Darondeau and Priou and has since launched subsidiaries Bonne Pioche Television, Bonne Pioche Cinema and Bonne Pioche Story.
Bonne Pioche has produced multi-genre hits such as Oscar-winning doc March of the Penguins and comedy We Are Family.
“Emmanuel and Yves are true craftsmen,” said Federation Founder Pascal Breton and CEO Lionel Uzan. “They and their teams are capable of developing the riskiest projects and turning them into success stories.”
The move comes just a few weeks after Federation took a stake in similar French outfit Robin & Co and Federation has since set up in Germany with veteran execs Philipp Steffens and Julie Link. Separately, it launched outfits in the U.S., UK and France last year.
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