Olswang advises indie production company 72 Films on BBC Worldwide's minority stake acquisition

This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.

International TMT law firm Olswang has advised independent factual production company 72 Films, headed by senior TV industry figures, David Glover and Mark Raphael, on the recent investment made by BBC Worldwide into the company. BBC Worldwide will acquire a minority equity stake and the global distribution rights to all content developed by 72 Films.

Launched earlier this year,72 Films was founded by Channel 4's Former Head of Specialist Factual and Gogglebox commissioner, David Glover, and Mark Raphael, previously Managing Director at Dragonfly TV and the driving force behind the Educating…. series. The new production company's focus will be on developing non-scripted, factual and virtual reality programming for UK and US broadcasters.

Olswang's International Head of Corporate Mark Bertram commented: "We were delighted to advise David and Mark on this significant investment into their new venture. The high-quality content developed will further bolster BBC Worldwide's compelling array of programming, and will no doubt benefit viewers across the world for the years to come. The closing of this deal once again showcases Olswang's affinity with innovative content producers, and we're looking forward to working with 72 Films on future projects."

This transaction follows in close succession to Olswang's work on the launch of fellow indie production company, House Productions, established by Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell, which also secured investment from BBC Worldwide.

The Olswang team was led by International Head of Corporate and Partner Mark Bertram with Corporate Associate Sarah Wilson, Commercial Partner John Enser, Commercial Associate Rebecca Platt and IP Partner Joel Vertes.

Olswang's Media practice is consistently ranked in the top tier of leading legal directories Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500. Throughout the past 35 years, Olswang has developed a stand-out reputation in the media sector, not only in the UK, but across its international offices. The firm's knowledge of the sector and its players, experience in dealing with all types of media transactions and disputes, and its network throughout Europe and Asia makes it ideal for acting for a range of clients in this sector from broadcasters, film and TV distributors to advertisers, publishers and record labels as well as burgeoning digital media and adtech businesses.

Read more about Olswang’s international legal practice on the firm’s website.