US group takes stake in Welsh media firm
FILM and television production company Bad Wolf has secured a lucrative US investment boost, which will help it bring more economy-boosting projects to Wales.
Set up in 2015 by former BBC executives Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, with backing from the Welsh Government, Bad Wolf is being backed by Access Entertainment in an investment that sees it taking a 24.9% equity stake in the company – which is close to confirming a Cardiff Bay location for what would be the biggest film studios in Wales.
The value of the equity investment has not been disclosed.
The Bad Wolf founders and former BBC drama executives were responsible for hugely successful programmes such as Doctor Who, Torchwood and Da Vinci’s Demons.
The company has offices in the centre of Cardiff.
Access Entertainment is a division of Access Industries, a global media, industrial and technology group owned by US billionaire industrialist Len Blavatnik.
Bad Wolf, which also has an office in Los Angeles, has already brought filming of an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s epic His Dark Materials to south Wales.
And the investment by Access Entertainment provides Bad Wolf with further support to fast track its already burgeoning scripted productions, and grow its business globally.
Since its launch last year Access Entertainment has quickly developed strategic connections with film, theatre and music businesses, allowing Bad Wolf to benefit from the wider structure of the group while growing its own business.
It was this framework and the strong creative leadership from former director of BBC Television Danny Cohen and Mr Blavatnik that made Access Entertainment the “obvious partner” for Bad Wolf.
In addition to His Dark Materials, Bad Wolf is also in the midst of producing in south Wales A Discovery of Witches, based on the bestselling novels by Deborah Harkness, and an adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles – alongside original scripts from some of the most respected writers in the industry.
Bad Wolf ’s chief executive Ms Tranter, said: “This investment is a fantastic endorsement of our vision for Bad Wolf and Welsh Government’s strategy for the industry.
“Access Entertainment is a bold and ambitious company which shares our appetite for drama of scale. Joining forces with Len Blavatnik and Danny Cohen was absolutely central to our decision.
“We have had a long and productive relationship with Danny over the years and Len is a true visionary who immediately understood what Bad Wolf stands for.
“With this partnership, we are supremely well positioned to take Bad Wolf to the next stage of its expansion.”
Mr Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries, said: “We established Access Entertainment to work with the world’s best creative talent and support them in realising their ambitions.
“We are delighted to partner with the Bad Wolf team at this critical stage in their development.”
Mr Cohen, president of Access Entertainment said: “I’m very excited to be forming this new partnership with Bad Wolf. Jane and Julie are brilliant television executives, highly creative and with an appetite for projects of global scale and impact.
“I’m very confident that Bad Wolf will produce outstanding work in the coming years – and we are looking forward to going on this journey with them.”