eOne Acquires Force Four Entertainment
By Nico Franks for C21Media
Entertainment One (eOne) has acquired fellow Canuck producer Force Four Entertainment, the Vancouver-based prodco behind Border Security and Seed.
The deal will see Force Four’s leadership team, including president Rob Bromley, exec producer John Ritchie and director of business affairs Gillian Lowrey, all join eOne.
Force Four, established in 1983, has produced TV shows including Border Security: Canada’s Front Line, The Cupcake Girls, Shannon and Sophie, Village on a Diet and Murder She Solved, as well as scripted sitcom Seed.
The acquisition marks eOne’s second takeover of the summer after the production and distribution outfit bought Canadian factual specialist Paperny Entertainment in a deal worth C$29.2m (US$27.2m) last month. It also acquired Toronto-based distributor Phase 4 Films in June.
eOne and Force Four initially formed a partnership on Seed, which aired on CityTV in Canada and The CW in the US, before the two companies set up an overall first-look deal on both scripted and unscripted projects.
Force Four’s Bromley will now report to Margaret O’Brien, president of Canada and COO at eOne Television.
O’Brien said: “While Force Four will maintain the identity and culture that has allowed them to innovate and create, we are thrilled to welcome their talented team to our family and delighted to invest in and support Force Four’s business as part of eOne.”
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