Mediawan, the award-winning studio behind “Adolescence,” “F1” and “Miraculous,” has finalized its acquisition of Peter Chernin’s North Road.
Together, Mediawan and North Road will operate nearly 100 individual production companies representing over $2 billion in annual production volume across 15 countries, including the U.S., France, Germany, U.K., Italy, Spain, Australia, Mexico and Turkey supported by a global distribution footprint, the companies stated in a joint release on Jan. 30.
The acquisition – which ranks as the biggest M&A deal of 2026 so far — was paid largely in stock and values North Road at roughly $900 million, according to The New York Times.
Chernin, a longtime media investor and former chairman of Fox who co-founded North Road with Jenno Topping and Jesse Jacobs in 2022, will join the board of Mediawan and will serve as non-executive chairman of North Road. Scott Manson will become CEO of the company.
Engineered by Mediawan’s CEO, co-founder and producer Pierre-Antoine Capton, the acquisition of North Road will give the French company a solid base in Hollywood and across English-speaking markets where it’s already built strong ties within the creative community, from Plan B’s Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner (“Adolescence,” “F1: The Movie”), to See-Saw’s Iain Canning (“Slow Horses”), as well as SpringHill’s LeBron James and LuckyChap. North Road will now serve as Mediawan’s North American hub.
While North Road is being folded into Mediawan to form a independent production powerhouse to serve global markets, its leadership teams, creative partnerships and labels will stay in place, notably Chernin Entertainment, led by David Ready; Chernin Entertainment Television, led by Kaitlin Dahill and Tracey Cook; top reality production company Kinetic Content, led by Chris Coelen, the creator of “Love Is Blind;” Worlds + Pictures, a premium documentary studio led by Connor Schell; North Road Television Studio, an independent scripted banner led by Amy Israel; the Turkish production company Karga Seven; and the Mexican production company Perro Azul. Jenno Topping will remain president of Chernin Entertainment.
The Chernin banner is behind Oscar-nominated films such as “Ford v Ferrari,” “Hidden Figures,” and “The Greatest Showman,” as well as “Spy,” “The Heat,” and the “Planet of the Apes” franchise. The company most recently produced “Back in Action,” one of Netflix’s biggest movie debuts in years, the “Fear Street” trilogy, “Slumberland,” and “Luther: The Fallen Sun,” all with Netflix. They recently signed a new multi-year first-look film pact with Apple TV+. Upcoming series include “Age of Innocence” and “Man on Fire,” both for Netflix.
“I’ve spent my career trying to focus on where the creative and entertainment businesses are going,” said Chernin. “In the streaming era, the platforms have all become global buyers. It’s time for a global content company with leadership in geographies all over the world to maximize the potential of this new landscape,” he continued.
Capton, who is bound to spend more time in Los Angeles to lead the combined group while continuing to spearhead Mediawan from its Paris headquarters, said “Mediawan has grown from a French independent studio into one of Europe’s leading global content groups” and the company’s success is “reflected in the strength of our IP and the ambition of our upcoming slate.”
“With the addition of Peter’s exceptional creative teams, we believe we are creating the ideal global home for premium storytelling. Peter is one of the most respected builders in our industry, and it is a true privilege for us to partner with him and Jesse Jacobs, and the North Road team on this next chapter.”
Like Chernin, Capton – who is also a producer of primetime talk shows in France — highlighted the need for global alliances at a time of massive consolidation. “Our goal is to reinforce Mediawan’s position as the leading independent platform for premium content and as a trusted partner to streaming platforms and all content distributors worldwide,” he continued.
Élisabeth d’Arvieu, Mediawan’s CCO who works closely with Capton on dealmaking, said, “Bringing Mediawan and North Road together creates a uniquely powerful creative platform across all genres, scripted and unscripted, film and series, documentaries and animation.” The said the next chapter will be about “creating a new bridge between the American and European industries.”
Mediawan’s portfolio of over 80 companies also includes leading producers across Europe, notably Dimitri Rassam’s Chapter 2 (“The Count of Monte Cristo”), Hugo Selignac’s Chi-Fou-Mi (“Beating Hearts”), Carlo Degli Esposti’s Palomar and Fred Kogel’s Leonine, among others.
Manson said joining forces with Mediawan will give them “the scale and resources to compete at the highest level globally.”
“We look forward to continuing to be a top supplier of content to our studio and streamer partners, while also leading the industry forward with new business models alongside Pierre-Antoine and our forward-thinking partners at Mediawan,” added Manson.
Capton will be headquartered in Paris with Mediawan’s governance and control remaining unchanged. Élisabeth d’Arvieu becoming Group Chief Content Officer, leading the group’s global content strategy across scripted television and film, unscripted and reality, documentaries, animation and emerging formats.
The combined entity is backed by leading global investors, including Mediawan’s strategic partner KKR, as well as Qatar Investment Authority, Providence Equity Partners, The Raine Group, Bpifrance, and Mediawan co-founders, telco billionaire Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse.
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