StudioCanal buys into Cumberbatch indie, Bambu

French production and distribution group Studiocanal has strengthened its TV assets by taking minority shares into three Europe-based indies, including Benedict Cumberbatch’s new indie.

The group, which intends to raise its revenues from television from 13% of overall sales to 25% in the two or three years term, has taken 33% of Bambù Producciones in Spain and 20% of UK pair Urban Myth Films and Sunnymarch TV, which actor Cumberbatch launched recently.

A deal in Italy is impending, as talks are ongoing with Italian company Cattleya, which is behind series such as Gomorrah.

“We don’t buy companies, we create partnership and work with talents,” said Didier Lupfer, respectively CEO and deputy managing director, in charge of TV production at StudioCanal.

StudioCanal will get first-look rights on the local and international productions from Banbu, Urban Myth and Sunnymarch.

StudioCanal already owns Tandem Productions in Germany and Red Productions and Guilty Party in the UK, and has assets in Scandinavia through joint venture SAM Productions and ties with Svensk and Spark TV.

Bambù, which Teresa Fernandez-Valdés and Ramón Campos founded, was recently commissioned to create Netflix’s first Spanish original series, a costume drama, and has already produced titles such Velvet, Gran Hotel (pictured) and English-speaking series The Refugees.

Founded in 2013 by Johnny Capps, Julian Murphy and Howard Overman, Urban Myth created E4 series Misfits, while Cumberbatch and Adam Ackland are behind newly created Sunnymarch, which plans to produce television dramas and documentaries, and has several projects in development.