ITV buys The Voice production company Talpa Media with John de Mol on board
ITV has turned its chair for the production company behind BBC talent show The Voice, buying up Talpa Media.
The broadcaster has acquired the Dutch production company founded by Big Brother creator John de Mol, in a deal worth up to £781m.
The deal includes keeping on de Mol and Talpa’s management team who will work with ITV’s in-house production firm ITV Studios, led by managing director Kevin Lygo.
It includes an initial cash offer of £355m with a further consideration of £426m over the next eight years, dependent on Talpa’s performance and de Mol remaining in place.
ITV will finance the deal from its existing cash pile and a new debt facility. It expects the deal to go through by the summer.
Adam Crozier, ITV's chief executive, said Talpa would help the media company expand its content business globally.
Great content is at the heart of ITV's growth strategy and the acquisition of Talpa builds on the success of our international content business and is absolutely in line with our desire to create and own formats that travel. John de Mol and his team have an incredible track record of doing that consistently over many years and I'm delighted to welcome them to the ITV family.
Talpa, founded in 2004 by de Mol and maker of TV shows such as I Love My Country and Dating In The Dark, brought in revenue of €233m (£165m) in 2013.
De Mol has previously turned down offers after putting the firm up for sale last year, including a £320m bid from Masterchef maker Shine.
ITV Studios makes shows for the channel such as Mr Selfridge and Dancing on Ice, as well as other broadcasters in the UK and globally. It brought in revenue of £933m last year, almost half of which comes from the UK, and profits of £62m.