Banijay takes full control of Endemol Shine India

Banijay has taken full control of Endemol Shine India.

The move sees the Big Brother and MasterChef indie giant buying out CA Media’s 49% shareholding in Endemol Shine India for an undisclosed amount.

Banijay Asia CEO Deepak Dhar takes on the same role at Endemol Shine India, with the fate of former Chief Exec Rishi Negi not immediately clear at press time. Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India will effectively become much closer and sit alongside each other under Dhar’s purview.

Dhar previously led Endemol’s Indian business between 2005 and 2018, before becoming the founder of Banijay Asia as a joint venture with Banijay. He now oversees the wider group’s content strategies, partnerships, new business and alliances. CA Media had owned 49% of Endemol Shine India since 2012.

According to Banijay, Dhar will “finesse the structure” of Banijay in Asia in coming weeks and create new group-wide roles and dedicated creative positions at the two labels. It’s not yet known if redundancies will follow and Banijay didn’t comment further when questioned.

Key personnel are expected to be named “in the coming weeks.” Dhar said that having been “fortunate to have been involved in the growth of both businesses since their inception in India,” the feeling of running both was “surreal.”

“The reorganisation of Banijay in Asia is our biggest and boldest move yet and aligns with our ambition to drive further growth in India and Asia at-large,” added Dhar. “Leveraging the creative potential and possibilities of both brands, we will now strategically pursue complimentary yet independent creative portfolios to offer the most diverse, and compelling cross-genre content from all across the globe, to our Indian and Asian platforms and screens.”

Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti said: “Deepak is a leading creative and entrepreneurial force in Asia, and in our partnership thus far, he has successfully created an impressive slate, and a host of fruitful partnerships with major buyers and partners worldwide. In this new phase for the business, he will now focus on unlocking and aligning other strategic growth avenues to put Banijay in a dominating position, both in India, as well as Asia.”

Banijay Asia’s shows include Netflix’s Ranveer Vs Wild, The Kapil Sharma Show and The Voice India, and it has found success this year with Disney+ Hotstar’s adaptation of The Night Manager. Endemol Shine India is behind local Big Brother staple Bigg Boss, MasterChef India and Fear Factor adaptation Khatron Ke Khiladi. Deadline