Leonine Holding GmbH
FormerlyTele München Group
TypePrivate company
IndustryMedia
Predecessors
  • Universum Film GmbH (1979–2019)
  • Concorde Film/Filmverleih/Video/Home Entertainment (1980–2019)
Founded27 April 1970 (27 April 1970)
FounderWalter Ulbrich
HeadquartersMunich, Germany
Key people
  • Fred Kogel (CEO)
  • Markus Frerker (COO)
  • Joachim Scheuenpflug (CFO)
  • Bernhard zu Castell (chief distribution officer)[1]
Revenue€286 million[2] (2015)
€56 million[2] (2015)
ParentKKR European Fund IV
Divisions
Websitewww.leoninestudios.com

Leonine Holding GmbH, LLC, formerly Tele München Group, LLC (German: Tele München Gruppe; TMG), is a media company based in Munich.

The activities of Leonine include trade in licenses, investments in television and radio stations and distribution and production of television films and movies.

History

Tele München Group

Former logo for Leonine Holding under Tele München Gruppe branding
Headquarters of TMG in Munich

The Tele München GmbH was founded on April 27, 1970, by author and producer Walter Ulbrich. It was purchased in 1977 by Herbert Kloiber and his business partner Fritz Buttenstedt. In 1980, the Concorde Filmverleih (Concorde film distribution) was founded and a year later, in 1981, the company acquired along with the cinema operator Hans-Joachim Flebbe several movie theaters in Hamburg, Berlin and Braunschweig.

TMG was partner at the television station Sat.1 in 1985; after a year, the company sold its shares and started the TV station musicbox. In the same year, TMG took over the Munich private radio station Radio Xanadu, which was later renamed to Radio Energy.

In 1987, Silvio Berlusconi’s company Fininvest acquired 50 percent of musicbox. This was the basis for the channel Tele 5. In 1988, Axel Springer Publishing House and CLT became partner at TMG. In 1989, 50 percent from the company were sold to Capital Cities / ABC.

1991 TMG sold its shares in Tele 5 to the Axel Springer Publishing House and in 1992 founded, together with CLT, Bertelsmann, Bauer Media Group and The Walt Disney Company, the TV channel RTL II. In 1995, the television station Tm3 was founded by TMG and the Bauer Media Group.[3]

In 1996, Herbert Kloiber bought back the TMG shares from Capital Cities / ABC, and took over the shares of Bauer Media Group on Tm3. In 1997, TMG participated in the Hungarian private broadcaster TV2.[4]

In 1998, Rupert Murdoch's company News Corporation took over 66 percent of Tm3 and two years later, in 2000, took over Tm3 completely.[5]

On 28 April 2002, the channel Tele 5 was restarted by TMG. TMG launched a streaming service, Filmtastic, in 2017.

Leonine Holdings

In February 2019, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) agreed to purchase TMG, with expected closing in April 2019. At closing, Fred Kogel's appointment as CEO would be effective.[6] KKR also agreed to purchase the Universum Film movie distributor from RTL Group days later, with the intent to combine the two companies.[7] i&u TV was acquired by April 2019, when the expanded TMG acquired Wiedemann & Berg. Wiedemann & Berg would continue its TV arm, W&B Television, as a joint venture with Endemol Shine Group. Founders Max Wiedemann and Quirin Berg would continue as managing directors of Wiedemann & Berg while adding the position of head of the group's feature film production division.[8]

The enlarged Tele München Group was renamed Leonine Holdings in September 2019, with three main divisions: Distribution, Production, & Licensing. The distribution division, consisting of multiple Munich-based film distributors & a home video outlet, as well the company's stakes in RTL II & Tele 5, would be operating under the Leonine Distribution division name as of January 1, 2020. The production division, consisting of film & television production companies, would be grouped under the Leonine Production division, while continuing their separate identities. While under Leonine Distribution, RTL II, Tele 5, & the subscription video on demand services would continue under their current names.[1] Leonine purchased Endemol Shine Group's share of Wiedemann & Berg Television.[9]

Units

  • Leonine Licensing

Leonine Distribution

  • TM Distribution
  • TM International
  • Concorde (Munich) film company[6]
  • Concorde Home Entertainment (Munich)[10]
  • Universum Film movie distribution[7] (former division of UFA GmbH subsidiary of RTL Group)

Broadcasting

Leonine Holding formerly owned Tele 5 channel, which, since September 2020, is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Subscription video on demand channels

  • Filmtastic
  • Home of Horror
  • Arthouse CNM[1]

Leonine Production

  • Clasart Film (Munich)
  • Clasart Television
  • Clasart Classic[10]
  • Odeon Film (85.23%)[11]
    • Odeon Fiction - fictional content for television, cinema and streaming platforms
    • Odeon Entertainment - reality entertainment, documentaries, and live broadcasts
  • i&u TV (April 2019—)
  • Mediawan & Leonine Studios (joint venture with Mediawan)
    • Drama Republic (51%)
  • SEO Entertainment
  • Wiedemann & Berg Film (April 2019—)
    • W&B Television

Other interests

  • Load Studios - digital media
  • Storied Media Group, media project development and packaging[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Barraclough, Leo (20 September 2019). "KKR-Backed German Media Conglomerate Finally Has a Name: Leonine". Variety. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 "TMG financial year 2015". TMG. 20 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "Gesellschafterstruktur" (in German). RTL II. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  4. ↑ Ed Meza (6 April 2001). "Tele Munchen revs hit $194 mil on record sales". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Tele-München-Gruppe mit Rekordgewinn nach tm3-Verkauf" (in German). Handelsblatt. 5 April 2001. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Wiseman, Andreas (February 21, 2019). "German Film & TV Powerhouse Tele München Gruppe Bought By Investment Firm KKR". Deadline. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  7. 1 2 Wiseman, Andreas (25 February 2019). "KKR Continues German Spree With Acquisition Of Key Film Distributor Universum". Deadline. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  8. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (8 April 2019). "KKR Continues German Buying Spree With 'Never Look Away' & 'The Lives Of Others' Producer Wiedemann & Berg". Deadline. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  9. ↑ White, Peter (November 15, 2019). "Endemol Shine Sells 'Dark' & '4 Blocks' Producer Wiedemann & Berg Television To KKR-Backed Leonine". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 "Activities". Tele München Gruppe. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  11. ↑ Scott Roxborough (22 November 2011). "Herbert Kloiber's Tele-Munchen Group Ups Stake in Odeon Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
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