Mediawan acquires Femke Wolting & Bruno Felix prodco Submarine

Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood

European media group Mediawan has taken a majority stake in Submarine, the prodco behind Netflix’s Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood and Amazon Prime Video’s Undone.

The Amsterdam, LA and London-based company was founded two decades ago by Femke Wolting and Bruno Felix, and works across five divisions which feed each other: scripted, documentary, hybrid, animation (which encompasses the Netherlands’ largest animation studio); and digital/podcast.

It has been behind shows ranging from documentary Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World and Netflix’s Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press, to Richard Linklater’s film Apollo 10 1⁄2.

Submarine was also behind The Sandman episode A Dream of a Thousand Cats for Warner Bros TV and Netflix, with upcoming shows including The Kollective and Safe Harbor.

Femke Wolting

Copro building blocks

Mediawan, which is backed by US private equity firms KKR and Atwater Capital, among others, said the deal was was part of its strategy to build a “House of Talent with European expertise and know-how, with a strong international aim.”

It added: “This new partnership will accelerate the group’s strategy in terms of setting up international co-productions as well as building a powerful catalogue of IPs that are attractive to major creative talents.”

Wolting and Felix added: “Joining forces with Mediawan opens up a wealth of opportunities, allowing us to tap into their extensive network, resources and industry-leading expertise. This exciting partnership will fuel our mission of producing groundbreaking and innovative films and series that resonate with global audiences.”

“Their expertise in all genres and particularly in Adult Animation and International Series and their appetite for coproductions is a real asset for the continuous development of our group,” said Elisabeth d’Arvieu, CEO of Mediawan Pictures.

Mediawan expansion

The deal is the latest expansion for fast-growing Mediawan, which struck a deal with Entourage Ventures in February to provide a €100m ($100m) fund to support international scripted, kids and documentary projects.

Late last year, it acquired a “significant stake” in Brad Pitt’s Outer Range producer Plan B, following a funding round with its investors.

Mediawan was launched by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse in 2015. It subsequently partnered with Germany’s private equity-backed Leonine Studios and bought Lagardere Studios in 2020, followed by Doctor Foster firm Drama Republic last year.

It also own Storia Television, the company created to sell EuropaCorp’s TV business, and took majority stakes in Makever and Mon Voisin Productions in 2018, as well as AB Groupe a year earlier.

In June last year the Mediawan Alliance took a minority stake in Leonine, which is the fast-growing German media group also backed by KKR. Its interests include Tele München Group, Universum Film, Universum, i&u TV and Dark producer Wiedemann & Berg TV, which is now led by former Bavaria Fiction chief creative officer Oliver Vogel.