Fremantle has bought a majority stake in film and drama production company Element Pictures - the independent production company behind Normal People as well as Academy Award winning films The Favourite and Room.
Element Pictures is managed by co-founders Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe and it has offices in Dublin, London and Belfast.
It also runs a distribution company in Ireland as well as the Light House Cinema in Dublin and Pálás Cinema in Galway which fall outside the scope of the transaction.
Today's deal was spearheaded by Fremantle's Group COO and Continental Europe CEO, Andrea Scrosati and Lorenzo De Maio, of De Maio Entertainment.
Fremantle is part of the RTL Group. RTL is owned by Bertelsmann, which includes the world's largest world's largest book publisher Penguin Random House and music company BMG.
The company said the acquisition further underlines Fremantle's strategic plan to invest in and develop premium production companies and creative talents from around the world.
Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe said that Element Pictures is 21 years old this year and it is incredibly exciting for it to be entering a new and ambitious phase of growth in partnership with Fremantle at a "truly exhilarating time" for the industry.
"We are huge fans of the people at Fremantle, their vision for the future and the extraordinary talent they are working with across film and television," they added.
Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle Group COO, CEO Continental Europe, said that the company was proud to be investing and partnering with the very best creative minds in the business.
He said that Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe have built an astonishing company, which has become one of Europe’s most exciting and innovative creative production companies.
"We look forward to working closely with their immensely talented creatives, helping to build on their slate of high-quality, sophisticated, and powerful productions. Creative freedom will sit at the very heart of this partnership, and everyone at Fremantle is excited to be working with the Element Pictures team and supporting their growth internationally," he added.
