Banijay Americas acquires Brazilian ‘Vai Que Cola’ studio A Fábrica

Vai Que Cola

Banijay Americas has acquired A Fábrica, the Brazilian studio behind long-running sitcom Vai Que Cola.

Based in Rio de Janeiro, the production company was founded in 2016 by CEO Luiz Noronha, CCO Renato Fagundes, producers Cecilia Grosso and Samanta Moraes and CFO Alberto Elias.

The company’s management team will remain in place, according to Laurens Drillich, president of Endemol Shine Latino, who announced the acquisition, alongside Ben Samek, president and COO of Banijay Americas.

A Fábrica produces Vai Que Cola, which is in its 10^th season for Multishow and Globo and is currently working on scripted projects including the Netflix comedy Sem Filtro, which is set to debut early next year, and police procedural A Divisão, a co-production with Afroreggae Audiovisual, which will launch on Globoplay in 2023.

The company is also producing true crime docuseries including O Caso Henry, about a child’s murder that shocked Brazil a year ago, and the studio’s first original documentary, Filho da Mãe, which is set to debut on Amazon Prime Video on 16 December.

A Fábrica is also working on Concrete Jungle, a series loosely based on Edyr Augusto’s book, as well as The Yellow Passport, a feature film based on the book by Maha Mamo and Haiti, a drama series based on real events.

The acquisition of A Fábrica means that Banijay Americas is now comprised of 10 production companies across North America and South America, with its US studios including Endemol Shine North America, Bunim/Murray Productions, Truly Original, 51 Minds Entertainment, Authentic Entertainment and Stephen David Entertainment.

In Latin America, meanwhile, it operates Endemol Shine Brasil, Endemol Shine Boomdog and the recently opened Banijay Mexico & U.S. Hispanic.

Last month, the company also announced it was opening Banijay Studios Brasil, a new production studio facility in Guarulhos, Brasil, which will be managed by the team at Endemol Shine Brasil.

“When we look at potential new partnerships and or acquisitions, we always start with a search for talented storytellers and strong leadership and the team at A Fábrica was clearly at the top of that list,” said Samek. “They have quickly established A Fábrica as Brasil’s go-to studio for the best in film and scripted content and we are thrilled to have their team join our roster of world-class production studios in the Americas.”

A Fábrica’s Noronha added: “With the arrival of Banijay, we are guaranteed to grow with ever-increasing quality, both in terms of management and delivery capacity. We maintain flexibility in our business models and personalized customer service, reaffirming our commitment to originality and the results of our productions.”