Patrick Hoerl’s Autentic Buys Gedeon Media Group’s Assets & Launches Studio

Patrick Hoerl’s German factual specialist Autentic has acquired the assets of Gedeon Media Group (GMG), and is launching a studios business off the back of the deal.

GMG was forced into judicial liquidation earlier this year by a French Commercial Court after running into financial difficulties, with Autentic among those expressing interests in a rescue deal. Autentic has now won out.

The Munich-based has now established Gedeon Studios as a French production and distribution subsidiary, with GMG’s 3,000-hour catalog being subsumed into Autentic Distribution and a digital channels division going into Autentic’s channel management unit.

The asset deal includes Gedeon Programmes, Docland Yard and MC4. Gedeon filed was placed in liquidation in August, with the program units allowed to continue trading while a buyer was sought and sales arm Terranoa shuttered immediately.

Gedeon Studios will oversee all ongoing GMG productions and project development, including approximately 25 hours of television programming currently in production and two feature-length documentaries.

A seven-member team from the existing organization will join the new business. This includes senior producers Laurence Favreau, Valérie Guerin and Coraline Roch and Head of Development Mina Cuche. Carine Nonnenmacher, one of GMG’s senior producers, will lead the new studio, with GMG’s founder and former President, Stéphane Millière, working closely with the new company as Senior Consultant, Programme Development.

Gedeon was founded back in 1996 with the creation of Gedeon Programmes, and went on to become one of France’s most well-known factual production companies and the winner of more than 500 international awards for its docs in genres such as science, archaeology, history, culture and heritage. The likes of the BBC, CCTV, National Geographic, PBS, NHK, RADIO Canada, RAI, RTS, RTVE, SBS, SVT and ZDF have all counted themselves as buyers.

Autentic has a similar reputation in Germany, well established in factual genre. “With Gedeon Studios in Paris and Autentic in Munich, we will have teams in the two biggest markets in Europe,” said Patrick Hoerl, Managing Director at Autentic. “By combining the expertise of both companies, and using significant synergies in the monetization of content, will make us more resilient in the current, challenging market environment.

“Over more than three decades, Stéphane Millière and the Gedeon team have built an extraordinary legacy, establishing the company as one of the most respected names in factual production. We are proud to continue that journey together with the team in France, preserving valuable expertise and creative excellence while laying the foundation for the next phase of growth.”

Millière added he was “very pleased that Autentic is taking over the assets of the Gedeon Group through a new company that will continue to build on the work of the outstanding editorial team that has worked alongside me to develop the brand, carry forward ongoing projects and distribute the catalogue established over the past 30 years.”

“This alliance between two strong brands and two talented teams further strengthens the potential of Autentic for the years to come. I have the greatest respect for Patrick Hoerl, who has always been a passionate advocate for the documentary genre. I am delighted that he will become President of this new Gedeon.”