Fremantle has acquired a majority stake investment in one of Asia’s largest independent TV and film production companies, Beach House Pictures, the outfit behind Netflix series Mind Your Manners.
Founded in 2005 by producers Donovan Chan and Jocelyn Little, Singapore-based Beach House Pictures (BHP) specialises in creating and co-financing original IP across non-scripted, scripted, entertainment and brand-funded programming.
Recent BHP productions include Netflix Indonesia’s documentary feature Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso; Netflix true crime documentary Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case; and science series Evolve for Amazon Prime Video & Curiosity.
BHP also produces long-running franchises including Masterchef Singapore (Mediacorp), Ed Stafford: First Man Out (Discovery+, Bilibili) and Wild City with David Attenborough (Netflix, Sky, BBC America).
In 2021 BHP took a majority stake in Singapore-based Momo Film Co. to grow its scripted output and extend its reach across South-East Asia.
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As part of the Fremantle transaction, Blue Ant Media has sold its stake in Beach House Pictures.
The investment in Beach House Pictures follows a number of acquisitions and investments made by Fremantle over the last few years, including Belgium-based A Team Productions, UK based Dancing Ledge Productions, scripted Italian production company Lux Vide and Irish production company Element Pictures.
Jennifer Mullin, Group CEO of Fremantle commented: “Fremantle invests in and works with the best creatives in the industry, and Jocelyn, Donovan and the team at Beach House Pictures are exactly that. Their taste and approach to storytelling is inspirational. Asia is a dynamic market and one we have targeted for strategic growth, and I am proud we have found a wonderful partner in Beach House Pictures to be part of our family.”
Ganesh Rajaram, CEO of Asia and Latam at Fremantle added: “We have been looking for the right partner in Asia to expand our output and footprint, and I can think of no one better than Jocelyn, Donovan and entire team at Beach House Pictures. They are a true powerhouse, with great synergies to our business, and we are lucky to welcome them into the Fremantle family.”
“This is a significant milestone in the growth of Beach House Pictures; from a small and scrappy documentary company over 18 years ago to the multi-genre Asian super indie today,” said Jocelyn Little and Donovan Chan, Founders of Beach House Pictures. “We are very proud of what we have achieved but we are even more excited about the many things we can build together with our new partners Fremantle, whose immense scale and reach, incredible quality and deep library of formats is second to none.”
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