Banijay lands Publicis exec to lead M&A, as ambitions expand beyond content

Stéphane Préfol

Banijay has hired an associate director from French advertising firm Publicis Groupe to oversee its M&A activity, as the company looks beyond content production acquisitions.

Stéphane Préfol becomes head of M&A at the French production and distribution giant, reporting jointly to CEO Marco Bassetti and CFO Cédric Brignon. He begins 6 March.

Préfol worked on more than 40 M&A deals while at Publicis, spanning the creative, production, events, media, tech, ecommerce and data industries.

Before that, he held role in investment banking.

His remit includes working with Banijay’s executive team worldwide on M&A strategy, which has ramped over the past year after the company was rolled into publically traded FL Entertainment.

Recent deals include the acquisition of Beyond Entertainment, while FL has also been linked with a move for ITV Studios.

Bassetti said the appointment would ensure Banijay could “be more effective in broadening our business offering, building our reputation as a go-to for talent both in content and beyond.”

Préfol added: “Banijay’s profile has gone from strength-to-strength over the years and with its keen focus on strategic expansion, it seemed the perfect next stepping stone. I look forward to coming onboard and partnering with Marco, Cédric and the wider team globally in fulfilling the ambitions of the group at-large.”