Talpa Media, the media group owned by Dutch media entrepreneur John de Mol, acquired 49.9 percent of the shares of the Schwartzkopff TV television production company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Axel Springer SE. At the same time Schwartzkopff TV will be renamed “Talpa Germany”. With this step, Talpa and Schwartzkopff TV are consolidating their successful partnership in the German TV market.
Dr. Jens Müffelmann, CEO Axel Springer Digital Ventures, said, “John de Mol and Axel Springer have a common understanding with regard to entrepreneurship, creativity and love for content. We could not think of a better partner for Schwartzkopff TV.”
John de Mol, owner of Talpa Media, said, “Schwartzkopff TV has been our partner in the German market from the very beginning. The fact that we work together so well is an important factor in the success of the Talpa formats in Germany. I’m therefore very pleased with this strong confirmation of our partnership, which fits into Talpa’s philosophy.”
Karsten Roeder, Managing Director of Schwartzkopff TV added, “Over the last four years with Talpa, we have been able to produce many new and exciting TV formats. We are therefore very happy about the participation and the intended closer collaboration.”
Schwartzkopff TV was founded in 1993 and has been a subsidiary of Axel Springer SE since 1999. The production company with offices in Berlin and Hamburg has a diverse production portfolio ranging from music shows to galas and events. The company produces over 180 hours of programming each year for such TV stations as RTL, ProSieben, Sat.1, Vox and ZDF. Since 2010, Schwartzkopff TV has had the exclusive rights to co-produce the international Talpa formats in Germany. This includes top-ratings hits such as the music casting shows The Voice of Germany or The Voice Kids and the social television experiment Utopia to be broadcast next year.
Talpa, based in Laren in the Netherlands, is the holding firm that incorporates John de Mol’s media activities. Over the past few years, Talpa Holding has established itself as a full service development, production and distribution company for television and other media platforms. Talpa’s philosophy is to establish strong partnerships with leading local media companies in key markets and, where possible in these markets, to produce under its own brand. Earlier this year in line with this philosophy, Talpa announced the establishment of Talpa UK, Talpa Italy and Talpa Nordic. Talpa also operates wholly-owned production companies in the US and the Middle East.
The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities.
