Award-winning Irish film and drama production company Element Pictures has sold a majority stake in its business to global production and distribution giant Fremantle. Completion of the deal took place on 10 May 2022.
Co-founded by Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe in 2001, Element Pictures has grown to become one of Europe’s top drama producers, with offices in Dublin, London and Belfast. The company is behind the BBC/Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People and Academy Award-winning films The Favourite and Room.
Fremantle is part of the RTL Group which is owned by German international media company Bertelsmann. The company said the acquisition further underlines Fremantle’s strategic growth plan to invest in and develop premium production companies and creative talents from around the world. The investment in Element Pictures follows multiple acquisitions by Fremantle over the past 12 months.
Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe said the partnership will allow them to develop their existing relationships with the very best creators in the world and to expand their capacity to make exceptional film and television drama for international audiences.
A Philip Lee team, led by Jonathan Kelly and including Rebecca Clabby and Mary Hennessy, acted as Irish legal counsel to Element Pictures and its founding shareholders on this transaction.
