Peter Chernin Seeks Hollywood Acquisitions Including Studio Behind ‘Love Is Blind’

(Bloomberg) -- Media mogul Peter Chernin is looking to buy entertainment assets that could bolster his namesake production studio, including a possible deal for the German-owned media company Red Arrow Studios, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Chernin Entertainment has produced the movies “Ford v Ferrari” and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and now has a deal to make movies for Netflix Inc. The company is profitable, having posted $50 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, and is looking to hire a chief financial officer, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private financial information.

Chernin is now looking to bring more scale to the entertainment company amid a hot market for producers of high-end film and TV. Competition among new streaming services has led to a boom in film and TV production, and attracted the interest of financial suitors such as Blackstone and Apollo.

Because streaming services want to buy out so many of the rights to projects ahead of time, they guarantee a profit for the producer. That makes the earnings more predictable than in the hit-driven movie business of the past.

Red Arrow has attracted other bidders besides Chernin Entertainment, the person familiar with the matter said. The studio operates more than a dozen production companies, including the producers of the hit Netflix dating show “Love is Blind” and Amazon serial drama “Bosch.” Its owner ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE explored selling the company a couple of years ago, but paused the process because of the pandemic. ProSiebenSat declined to comment.

Chernin hired Centerview Partners and Moelis & Co to explore strategic options last year, and they discussed selling a minority stake to the private equity firm Carlyle Group Inc. Those talks didn't produce a deal, and Chernin is now more focused on buying or merging with another studio.

Several production companies have already sold or raised money, including Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine, Will Smith's Westbrook and A24. Other companies, such as Imagine Entertainment, are still on the market.

Chernin helped run Rupert Murdoch's media company for years before striking out on his own to start his own company. The Chernin Group invests in companies both in media and outside it. He and his partners Jesse Jacobs and Jenno Topping bought their partners out of the entertainment division, and now control it. 

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