EuropaCorp sells French TV assets for €11m

EuropaCorp Television has sold business assets for its French television production activity.

The current CEO of EuropaCorp Television, Thomas Anargyros, has bought the assets for €11 million (US$13 million).

As a result of this sale, the company will reduce its overheads by €2.5 million-€3 million a year.

The transaction will include the sale of the French-language series and telemovies, produced, in production or in development, as well as the rights to a catalogue of French-language programming and TV films developed by EuropaCorp.

This will include series and films such as XIII, Le Vol des Cigognes, Taxi Brooklyn, The Art of War, Life After Life and La Patrouille Perdue.

The sale will also include rights of all assets sold by EuropaCorp TV, and the assets and commitments given or received directly linked to those assets, the company noted in a statement.

EuropaCorp will retain interest in its US television business and is not selling this activity. The company will continue to produce and distribute English-language TV series such as Taken, which is currently in production for its second season.

The move comes after EuropaCorp reported record losses of US$135 million for its last financial year, with the Cara Delevigne-fronted (pictured) feature film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets an expensive box office flop.

Key executives such as CEO Marc Shmuger and deputy chief exec Eduoard de Vessine have left EuropaCorp in recent weeks.