German Film and TV Company Leonine Secures Financing Totaling $222 Million
German film and TV company Leonine Group, which was formed through the merger of Tele München Gruppe, Universum Film, i&u TV, Wiedemann & Berg Film and W&B Television, has rearranged its long-term group financing.
The financing includes long-term loans and revolving credit lines totaling Euros 189 million ($222 million), which also cover the company’s film production financing, with the exception of the publicly listed Odeon Film AG, which also belongs to the Leonine Group. Euros 33 million ($38.8 million) in production financing has been made available to Odeon Film.
“Rearranging our previous financing structures with a long-term focus was another important milestone in our integration process,” Leonine CFO Joachim Scheuenpflug commented. “As a result, we have significantly optimized our refinancing and standardized it across the group.”
He added: “We take this as confirmation of the high level of confidence in Leonine’s business model and as an important reference on the part of the financing banks. The syndicated financing facility provides us with additional planning security, a large and reliable flexibility, and enables us to consistently pursue our growth targets.”
The consortium of banks providing the financing is led by DZ Bank and UniCredit Bank, both with expertise in the media sector, and consists of a total of five banks, including the two Austrian banks Erste Group Bank and Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich Zweigniederlassung Süddeutschland as well as Santander.
The law firm Milbank advised Leonine on the legal aspects of the syndicated financing facility. The bank consortium was counseled by the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Since being founded last year, Leonine has become a significant buyer of German rights for big-budget independent films, including Guy Ritchie’s “Five Eyes,” “Violence of Action,” starring Chris Pine, and Roland Emmerich’s “Moonfall.”
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