CA Media acquires stakes in Endemol India & OML

The Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group acquires 49% stake in Endemol India; invests in a music, live events and youth media company OML alongside Zodius

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | April 26, 2012

CA Media, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group (TCG), has announced its investment in two Indian companies – Endemol India, the world's largest independent television producer, and Only Much Louder (OML), a music, live events and youth media company in India.

CA Media has acquired a 49% stake in Endemol India aimed at building Endemol India a leading and most valuable content production company in India across television, film and digital content. Deepak Dhar who has been Managing Director of Endemol India since 2007 will continue to lead the company and is promoted to CEO.

Founded in 2006 and based out of Mumbai, Endemol India has grown to be one of India's largest producers of entertainment television. The company is known for its successful shows including “Bigg Boss” (India's version of “Big Brother”, which has had 5 Seasons to date) and “Fear Factor” (4 Seasons) for Colors. Other hit programming includes talent shows “Laughter Challenge” (4 seasons) and “Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star” (2 seasons) for Star Plus, and over 400 episodes of “Deal or No Deal” and the recently launched “The Money Drop” for Sun Network.

Key strategic priorities for Endemol India include establishing a strong presence in the Indian film sector as well as expansion in scripted and regional television, areas in which Endemol India is already active. CA Media's backing provides Endemol India with extensive operational experience from its principals and the required financial resources for executing the ambitious growth strategy. At the same time Endemol India will continue to produce and exploit Endemol's global portfolio of formats and IP. International distribution of all content developed by the operation will be handled by Endemol.

The Chernin Group Chairman and CEO Peter Chernin commented: “India is a critical investment market for CA Media and we're pleased to partner with Endemol to work together to further leverage the growth in the Indian media and entertainment space. We believe that Endemol India is poised to capitalize on the expected explosive growth across all platforms in this industry.”

Just Spee, CEO of Endemol Group commented: “India represents a significant opportunity for Endemol and our collaboration with CA Media strongly positions us to become the region's largest content producer. With his far-reaching experience and expertise in the market, Deepak is the ideal candidate to lead this project and we are excited to be working with CA Media and The Chernin Group.”

Paul Aiello, CEO of CA Media added, “This is our largest investment in Asia to date and reflects not just our ambitions for this market but also our trust in Endemol India's capabilities, to jointly build the leading production company in the Indian entertainment space.”

“Our new partnership with Endemol fits in well with our plans of creating a diversified portfolio of assets in the media and entertainment space, with Endemol India being at the epicentre,” commented Rajesh Kamat, CEO of CA Media India. He added, “If there's one company that is poised to really leverage the growth-explosion ahead in the Indian content space then it is Endemol. Our alliance will ensure that Endemol will achieve growth across screens, demographics and genres.”

Besides, CA Media has invested in Only Much Louder (OML) alongside Zodius, an investor and operator of digital media, commerce and services companies that develops market defining companies in the "new" digital India. .

Only Much Louder operates at the intersection of three key elements - alternative culture, youth and brands. It focuses on reaching the youth market in India through high quality entertainment properties including music festivals, television and web-based content.

OML started as an artist management firm in 2002 and has now expanded its operations to include a large-format music festivals division, a full-fledged production house, a digital wing and an expansive artist management and bookings enterprise. OML works with various brands in the country in conceptualising and executing their marketing and branding strategies aimed at the youth segment.

CA Media CEO Paul Aiello said, “Our investment in OML represents one end of the spectrum of our investment plans in India – that of identifying and backing talented people in virgin domains, with sustainable as well as scalable business models. OML is in an exciting domain and we foresee great potential ahead.”

CA Media India CEO Rajesh Kamat commented, “OML operates in a category that's nascent right now, but holds immense potential in time to come. With over 65% of Indian population under 35 years of age, we're extremely bullish about the value that OML can unlock in this segment.” He added, “Our expertise in traditional media coupled with the Zodius team's skills and experience in the digital space will drive OML's future growth.”

Through this investment and management support, CA Media and Zodius plan to assist OML in scaling up its operations, to achieve true scale, over the next few years.

Neeraj Bhargava, Zodius, commented, “Vijay and his team at OML not only create exceptional media platforms for their clients but they also execute flawlessly.  We are delighted to partner with the OML team and CA Media to build the market leading company targeting youth entertainment.”

Vijay Nair, Founder and CEO, OML Entertainment, commented, “Over the last decade, we have grown from being an artist management company to building several successful franchises across content platforms centred around live music and alternative culture. This investment marks a new phase in the evolution of OML where we will be focussing not only on live on-ground properties, but actively looking at amplifying them through television and digital media. CA Media and Zodius are the right partners to guide us and work with us on strategically scaling up OML and build it to its true potential. ”

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