Noerr advises BBC Worldwide on Tower Productions joint venture with All3Media Deutschland

Noerr has advised the media company BBC Worldwide Ltd. on the extension and revision of its joint venture with All3Media Deutschland GmbH in the joint production company Tower Productions GmbH. In addition to the conclusion of the new joint venture agreement, the transaction in particular included the transfer of the operative business of the production company MME Me, Myself & Eye Entertainment GmbH to Tower Productions.

The Cologne-based Tower Productions GmbH was formed in 2009 as a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and All3Media and produces formats of both companies in Germany. Noerr had already advised BBC Worldwide on the formation of the joint venture.

BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm of BBC and in 2014/15 generated headline sales in excess of £ 1 billion and headline profits of ca. £ 138 million. The catalogue of BBC Worldwide includes the formats Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear, The Great British Bake Off and Sewing Bee.

All3Media Deutschland is part of the British All3Media Group, one of the largest independent TV production and distribution companies in Europe. The owners of the All3Media Group are Liberty Global and Discovery Communications. In addition to MME Me, Myself & Eye Entertainment GmbH, the subsidiaries of All3Media Deutschland include the production companies Filmpool Entertainment and Filmpool Fiction.

The Noerr team led by the partner Dr. Hans Joachim Radau advised BBC Worldwide comprehensively on all legal aspects of the extension and revision of the joint venture and on the acquisition of MME Me, Myself & Eye Entertainment GmbH by Tower Productions. The transaction is subject to the approval by the competition authorities.

Advisors to BBC Worldwide Ltd.: Noerr LLP

Dr. Hans Joachim Radau (lead, Corporate/M&A, Munich/Berlin), Anka Ehrich (Private Equity & Venture Capital, Berlin), Dr. Michael Reiling (Distribution & Franchise Systems/E-Commerce, Munich), Dr. Wolfgang Schelling (Employment & Pensions, Munich), Dr. Michael Bergmann (Antitrust & Competition, Berlin)

Associates: Hanno Schaper (Antitrust & Competition, Berlin), Sebastian Diehl (Corporate/M&A, Munich/London), Nicole Heider (Employment & Pensions, Munich), Dr. So-Ang Park (Corporate, New York)

Inhouse: Simon Armitage, Eleonore Pieczanski (London), Dr. Karolin Engl-Lubba (Cologne)