Leonine Studios buys ‘Germania’ & ’13 Fragen’ producer Hyperbole Medien

Bastian Asdonk

Germany’s Leonine Studios has struck a deal to acquire Berlin-based entertainment outfit Hyperbole Medien.

The company is known for socially relevant entertainment shows including Germania for ZDF and 13 Fragen for ZDFneo, as well as being behind German political journalism YouTube channel Die Da Oben.

Leonine is buying its stake from MD Bastian Asdonk, who will remain in his post after the deal concludes on 1 June.

He will work with Leonine’s chief digital officer Christian Meinberger, who will join the Hyperbole management team. He currently oversees digital format development across all of Leonine’s production companies.

Hyperbole joins Leonine’s growing production roster, which includes i&u TV, Madame Zheng Production, Odeon Fiction, SEO Entertainment, W&B Television and Wiedemann & Berg Film.

Leonine CEO Fred Kogel said: “Hyperbole’s development and formats have impressed us for some time now. The company is characterised by a clear profile, a feel for the zeitgeist and a successful mix of innovative and journalistically high-quality formats.

“Together we will complement our existing IPs with new formats and expand the cross-media reach of our content. In this way, we’re broadening the growth potential for our digital production area for the long term.”

Leonine Studios works across production and distribution, last month acquiring international distribution rights to 8 x 60-minute crime drama Troppo from AGC Television.

It is a separate entity to Mediawan & Leonine Studios, which last year acquired Doctor Foster prodco Drama Republic.